YouTube Strategy Shift: Smart, or Sign of Desperation?

Kevin Maney writes: YouTube last night launched something called Screening Room, for long-form films from around the world. The move is 180 degrees from what Google's content chief told me in January.

At that time, David Eun, who runs all of Google's content businesses including YouTube partnerships, assured me in an interview that Google had no interest in putting up full-length TV shows or movies. "We presume you don't want to watch a 30-minute video on YouTube," he said. He went on to explain more about YouTube's strategy, including seeking cell phone deals, and it was all about user-generated, short-form content.

So why the shift? Om Malik doesn't seem that surprised and says it's all about getting legal content that YouTube can sell advertising around. That's probably true -- and if it is, it's another sign that Google can't find a way to make real money on what YouTube already is. There is no question that Screening Room is a shift from what Eun detailed six months ago. Which begs the question: How desperate is Google to find a way to make YouTube pay off?