Earlier this month, social networking giant MySpace.com launched new sites for short films and video clips. MySpace Film is looking to duplicate the site's success as a hub for signed and unsigned music artists by giving pro and amateur filmmakers a platform to air their cinematic creations. The company is also promoting a Videos tab for users to upload homegrown and viral clips.
MySpace, acquired last year by News Corp. (NYSE:NWS), has grown up in a hurry. According to Alexa.com, only four other domestic sites are generating more traffic. That means that MySpace is more popular than any stateside destination other than Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO), MSN, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG), or Motley Fool Stock Advisor pick eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY).
News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch's media empire is seen as mostly a collection of old-school television and newspaper properties, but he's clearly tapping into the pulse of today's young Internet users with MySpace. It's an opportunity that News Corp. isn't about to squander.
MySpace Film is gunning for popular sites like Viacom's (NYSE:VIA) recently acquired iFilm.com on the film front and YouTube.com on the viral video clips end. However, it is also aimed at such portals as Google, Yahoo!, and AOL.com, which are trying to establish their high-traffic domains as sites for video content, too.
With bandwidth costs dropping, companies like Google and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have begun to charge for select video downloads. It's highly unlikely that MySpace will levy similar fees, which helps the social networking site pose a hurdle to more prolific operators. Entertainment-hungry users may pay up for the higher quality of premium video from sites like Apple's iTunes, but they'll also likely be tempted by the lure of plentiful free video as well.
In short, keep an eye on the traffic that MySpace generates in these new areas. If the site fares as well for aspiring filmmakers as it has for indie musicians and angst-ridden teens, Murdoch may find himself crashing another new-economy party.
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz is in awe of filmmaking, but he can't even get a USB webcam plugged in right. He does not own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Fool has a disclosure policy. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
