Some of the posting was based on discussions with people involved in the deal. The anonymous poster wrote that in the months prior to the YouTube sale, there were mounting copyright complaints. YouTube offered the complainants revenue share so that it would look better with Google, MySpace, Yahoo!, and other possible suiters.
The media companies rejected revenue share because YouTube was not making money so it would unlikely generate the needed revenue. Because of the inability to settle with media companies, the Google transaction earmarked a portion of the purchase price to pay for settlements and/or fight claims. The anonymous poster wrote that nearly 500 million of the 1.65 billion purchase price was not being disbursed to shareholders but instead held in escrow.
There will likely be more press on infringement lawsuits served on YouTube and Google in the next few months.
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