&gt; <i>YouTube Seeks Streaming Rights to TV Shows, Movies</i><p>I find it hard to believe that they haven&#x27;t attempted to do just that a long time ago. And probably many times since. I can only conclude that they were unwilling to give up certain rights or couldn&#x27;t agree on revenue contracts in exchange for the rights to stream. Whereas the smaller companies (at the time) really had no choice and accepted those terms. Smaller companies like Netflix, Hulu, etc didn&#x27;t have youtube&#x27;s negotiating power, and streaming for youtube wasn&#x27;t a make or break thing. They could take a pass if they so wanted. If netflix were to take a pass, it could&#x27;ve meant the end of their business.<p>Now youtube is watching companies like Netflix turn into direct competitors and has since changed its mind and is probably becoming more pliable. I think youtube had an established revenue model and these big companies (Fox, universal, etc) wanted more than youtube was willing to give up. Youtube should have realized, however, the internet is too dynamic. Sure, a direct competitor isn&#x27;t going to pop up overnight, but you&#x27;d be surprised just how quick they can establish themselves.