Do Google $$$ billion acquisitions kill competition?

Can Google lock-in the online video market by a $1.65 billion Google stock acquistion of the favored video site, YouTube? Can Google muscle its way into the radio advertising market by acquiring dMarc Broadcasting for $100 million plus and buying up radio ad sales talent and radio ad inventory?

NOT SO FAST, according to my investigations last week and my exclusive interviews last weekend with the executive teams at leading competitive challengers to both YouTube and Google dMarc.

In "Google $20 billion Audio Ads: Not a radio test!" I report on the update I received from Google last week on the status of its moves into the radio advertising market via its dMarc acqusition and cite my multiple discussions with another new online player in the radio ad sales space: SWMX Radio vs. Google? SWMX COO talks ‘The Real Deal’ in exclusive interview."

Of note, however, Google was mum on dMarc and its radio advertising forays at its Q3 earnings call last month, as I report in "Is Google hiding the radio star? Google silent on dMarc Broadcasting."

In "Google failing to snag $116 billion print, radio, television ad markets" I underscore the inability of Google to achieve its lofty offline ambitions:

Google has made no secret of its desire to dominate all the world’s advertising. I have personally heard Schmidt proclaim what he believes is Google’s rightful destiny to “revolutionize” every ad market world wide, for the financial benefit of Google...

Google's diversification performance to date does not suggest it will be a serious contender in the $116 billion offline advertising world series anytime soon!

Also see Google’s $48 billion Print Ads test: Fourth time’s the charm?.

What about online video? Does Google YouTube wipe-out the competition?

Arik Czerniak, CEO of Metacafe, now "the world’s largest independent video site,” told me that the Metacafe User Licensed Content model and Producer Rewards contributor compensation program will prevail to make Metacafe the “best place to watch and distribute quality short video."

Czerniak is not simply waxing poetic about his own property, he offered me statistics to prove his claim of supremacy over YouTube:

Czerniak did a Metacafe vs. YouTube top video views analysis October 16, 2006, comparing the number of views received by Metacafe’s top 200 videos and the number of views received by YouTube’s top 200 videos.

Results? The top 200 videos at YouTube received a total of about 560,000,000 views while the top 200 videos at Metacafe received about 630,000,000, 12% more than YouTube.  Czerniak happily concludes that Metacafe is an “entertainment destination” for watching the “best videos.”

Czerniak is also not just talking Metacafe bragging rights over YouTube; He illustrates why amateur video enthusiasts that seek compensation for professional quality video work will favor sites with meaningful audiences and real UGC compensation.

Read my entire interview: "Metacafe vs. YouTube: Metacafe talks "The Real Deal" in exclusive interview."

In "Why Google Sponsored Video is Google business as usual" I point out that contrary to Google claims, its Sponsored Video program has not been opened up to UGC videos:

Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz “backyard scientists” schtick is part of their well-planned and precisely executed “Diet Cokes and Mentos” not quite spontaneously viral video money-making franchise.

Their current “Internet world premier” of a Sequel II is a far cry from the typical “user-generated content” videos of the YouTube clip culture variety. Google nevertheless positions the work of the not so mad scientists as such at the official Google blog in announcing the “release” of the team’s latest video, “The Domino Effect.”...

The Google-EppyBird-CocaCola calculated collaboration is a sponsored video match made in diet coke and mentos heaven. But does it portend a lucrative democratization of amateur video as Google would have the public believe?...

The Google-EppyBird-CocaCola deal is not representative of Google’s standard user generated video uploading program.

What about Google's YouTube? Not only is YouTube a copyright quagmire for video conent owners, the company is wary of marketers "messing it up," as I reported yesterday in "YouTube on marketers: Won’t be ‘messing it up’":

If Suzie Reider, CMO, YouTube, has her way, marketers won’t be “messing up” YouTube anytime soon. Reider reasserted YouTube’s clip culture philosophy at an AdTech panel in NYC this morning: “The Online Video Revolution: A Marketer’s Dream or a Consumer-Generated Mess?"...

Reider is eager to “bring marketers into the YouTube community in a meaningful way,”  as long as they won’t be “messing it up.”

While YouTube doesn't want its own clients to "mess up" its site, YouTube competitors are confidently competing on, while believing Google is "messing it up."

Ditto for dMarc competitors!

ALSO SEE: "Google is NOT invincible: 5 reasons why!" and
"Google: Radio star or bit player?"