YOUTUBE IS BEING reprogrammed for the iPhone and iPad amid the latest fallout from the growing hostility between Apple and the video service’s owner, Google.
The new format debuted today with the release of a new YouTube application that will introduce more advertising and more videos on Apple’s trend-setting devices.
The changes are being made because Google Inc. and Apple Inc. didn’t renew a five-year licensing agreement that established YouTube as one of the built-in applications in the operating system that runs the iPhone and iPad.
YouTube is being bumped from the menu of pre-installed apps on the next version of Apple’s mobile operating system, or iOS, which could be released as early as Wednesday when the latest iPhone is expected to be unveiled.
The updated iOS also is dumping Google’s digital maps as its go-to source for directions.
The mapping snub stung Google, but Apple’s removal of YouTube from the iOS’s application line-up appears to be a less contentious decision.
The two rivals couldn’t agree on the best way to watch YouTube on the iPhone and iPad, leading to the termination of the licensing agreement and leading to Google’s development of a stand-alone YouTube app that can be downloaded for free in in Apple’s iTunes store.
The licensing agreement had granted Apple control over the design of the built-in YouTube app on the iPhone and iPad.
The new YouTube app will create more moneymaking opportunities for Google and video producers because it allows advertising to be shown with the clips. That’s something Apple hasn’t allowed on the pre-installed YouTube app.
The ban on ads prevented many music videos and other widely watched clips from being shown in the iOS app because some copyright owners don’t allow their content to be shown if there is no way for them to be paid.
The new YouTube app is tailored for the iPhone, although it will work on the iPad, too. A retooled app specifically tailored for the iPad is supposed to be released in the next few months.
As has always been the case, YouTube’s videos also can be watched through Web browsers that work on iOS, including Apple’s Safari and Google’s Chrome.
YouTube, the world’s most popular video site, could still end up losing some of its audience on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch because device owners will have to find and download the app from Apple’s App Store. YouTube says mobile viewers collectively watch more than 1 billion clips per day.
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