Facilitating search functions will be Singingfish, an integrated engine AOL acquired in 2003 that allows for searches within video and music clips utilizing speech-recognition technology.
AOL has responded to decreased subscribers in the past two years with a series of TV ads, increased AOL CD mailers and May’s introduction of free web-based email in an attempt to lure customers back and drive traffic to its web-based services.
Both Google and Yahoo have debuted different flavors of video searches in 2005. The main difference between the three competitors is content. Google offers clips from CNET Networks, Greenpeace and UNICEF as well as a player. Yahoo, unlike AOL and Google, does not yet offer a player.
AOL also runs commercials before or after its videos while Google does not. The beta program, which AOL plans to officially announce next week, is the flagship of a redesigned marquee space on the AOL website, set to debut this summer.
All three companies are actively courting Hollywood for content [Yahoo recently opened an office in Santa Monica], keeping a wary eye on piracy issues. The Supreme Court this week declared that companies were liable for piracy that occurs on their servers and networks, a move that caused Google to rush to remove links to Hollywood movies and sitcoms that users had uploaded to the site.