Google Video will shut down April 29, two years after it acquired YouTube

Google tried manhandling the online video industry with the hopes of competing with YouTube when it created Google Video in January 2005; the product quickly became a minor contender when it couldn't compete with the global giant. However, on April 29, Google Video will shut down for good and all existing videos on the platform will be inaccessible. Emails were sent out to Google Video subscribers last week to remind them that videos no longer be viewable.

A new download button appeared on the website and Google is encouraging Video users to upload videos to YouTube instead, which it acquired in 2006. YouTube has since made for a sizable chunk in Google’s revenue stream, attracting more than 2 billion video views per day. In 2009, Google Video stopped accepting new video uploads, adding to the dying fan base and service.

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According to PC World, Michael Cohen, Google Video’s product manager, wrote on the blog that the search engine was stopping uploads from users in order to focus on video search – what Google is best known for.

In the email sent out to Google Video users, the company writes:
“We’ve always maintained that the strength of Google Video is its ability to let people search videos from across the web, regardless of where those videos are hosted. And this move will enable us to focus on developing these technologies further to the benefit of searchers worldwide.”

Google Video users have until May 13 to download their videos before they will be removed permanently. Considering Google owns YouTube, you think they would have made for an easy transfer from one video platform to the other. That way, lost Google Video users could stick with a Google brand, adding to the company’s loyal customer base.