MySpace to Launch YouTube Killer Tomorrow

The New York Times reports that MySpace will launch its alternative to YouTube, MySpace TV, tomorrow. The article calls this a “refurbishment” of MySpace’s 18-month old video sharing service and possibly their branded video channels, announced last month.

The Times cites comScore stats that say that 50.2 million online video viewers used MySpace in April—not too far behind YouTube’s 57.9 million viewers. However, YouTube still serves a wider geographical audience and far more videos than MySpace.

MySpace is adding additional features to their MySpace TV site including copyright filtering, video editing and combining (coming later this year) and immediate availability in 15 countries and seven languages.

As an independent website, even people who aren’t MySpace members can add videos to MySpaceTV.com, but also features special benefits for MySpace members, such as easy integration of videos into profiles and an individualized “channel” for each profile’s uploaded videos.

However, “front and center” will be the professional content developed for or licensed to MySpace TV:

For example, last week MySpace became the exclusive site for Sony’s “Minisodes”— five-minute versions of ‘80s sitcoms like “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Silver Spoons.” Tens of thousands of users have watched the clips.

The professional clips will feature pre-roll ads.

How soon do you think that MySpace will add barriers to make it more difficult to add YouTube videos–or ban them altogether?

(via)