Setback for Viacom in Google suit

Viacom was denied a request to seek punitive damages against Google in the $1 billion copyright infringement case the media company filed against the Web giant last year. This development, though, does not affect the original suit that Viacom filed against Google, arguing that the company's YouTube property profited from copyrighted Viacom content that was illegally put on the video-sharing site. The media conglomerate had filed a motion to amend this suit, asking for punitive compensation beyond the initial complaint. (Hollywood Reporter)

YouTube Expands APIs; Videos Now on TV Through TiVo

Google's YouTube video site on Wednesday introduced updates to its application programming interfaces (APIs) that will allow developers to integrate videos from the site into other applications, and showcased implementations from TiVo, Electronic Arts, Animoto and the University of California. (Digital Media Wire)

Musicians still waiting on a YouTube payday

Some top music managers have told CNET News.com that their clients haven't seen any money from the licensing deals the four largest music labels have signed with YouTube over the past 18 months. According to a statement from Google-owned YouTube, the Web site is banking ad dollars generated by the artist's music and is sharing that money with the record labels. What the managers want to know is why little or nothing has trickled down to the artists. (News.com)

YouTube most popular networking site in the UK

YouTube is now the most popular social networking website in the UK, overtaking the user-edited encyclopedia Wikipedia with 10.4 million unique users during January. The Google-owned video-sharing site saw a 56% increase in traffic from January the previous year. Nielsen Online estimates that nearly two-thirds of UK web users - or 20.8 million people - visited at least one of the top 10 social networking sites. (The Guardian)

Steve Chen: YouTube to Add Live Video

YouTube will support live video before the end of this year, co-founder Steve Chen told Pop17 videoblogger Sarah Meyers. The background party music is thumping, so here’s a transcript. (NewTeeVee)

UMG Hits Billion Mark On YouTube

Universal Music Group has streamed 1 billion music videos on YouTube, making it one of the site's most popular video channels, the two companies announced today. More than 8 million UMG videos are streamed each day on YouTube, keeping it on top of YouTube's Most Viewed- All Time chart for more than a year. UMG is streaming hundreds of millions more videos on the site than fellow major media companies CBS and NBC. (Billboard)

YouTubers given share of ad cash

YouTube users in the UK will be given the chance to make money from the videos they post on the site. The project is already up and running in the US and is now being extended to other countries, starting in the UK. YouTube is not disclosing the exact details of the scheme, but does say that those making "several thousand dollars a month" are regularly producing videos with over one million views. (BBC News)

YouTube Announces New and Expanded Mobile Offerings

The latest enhancements to YouTube for Mobile will give users access to the largest repository of mobile video content available, on over 100 million devices worldwide, and will give them more tools to personalize their experience. YouTube for Mobile (http://m.youtube.com) users will be able to access tens of millions of videos. YouTube for Mobile requires a streaming capable (RTSP) phone as well as a 3G operator. This includes a majority of 3G phones from leading mobile phone manufacturers. (PR)

Daily Traffic To Video Sharing Sites Nearly Double

The audience for YouTube and other video sharing websites has risen sharply in the past year, with almost half of online adults logging onto such sites, reports a study from Pew Internet & American Life Project. In a national phone survey of 2,054 adults, 48 percent said they have visited a video sharing site, up from last year’s 33 percent. Now, nearly a third of young adults and a fifth of online men visit these sites. (PaidContent)

YouTube Gives Unsigned Musicians A Gateway To Grammys

YouTube last week announced its second My Grammy Moment contest. Instrumentalists can submit a video of a solo performance of the Foo Fighters' Grammy-nominated song "The Pretender." The performances will be judged by a panel of musicians and industry insiders who will choose 45 quarter-finalists. The public will choose 20 semi-finalists and a winner by voting. The winner will step into the limelight as a featured instrumentalist in an orchestra made up of the semi-finalists. Last year's winner performed with Justin Timberlake. (Information Week)