Searchengine journal has an excellent post about the rise and rise of Google Video. Strange to think Google Video is only a year old.

“Replacing Froogle on the preferred Google Channel link list, Google Video visits dwarfed those recently enjoyed by the Google Froogle shopping portal. Which leads to the end result of Google Video being more branded and more important to the online lives of Google users than Froogle“

I think they’ll probably integrate Froogle more directly, however this move does highlight the importance of video in the near-future. People have dreamed about video on demand, and Google could well be in a position to actually deliver it.

What we’re surely seeing here is the start of the worlds most successful “tv” channel. Expect to see fierce content wars as “broadcasters” look to sign up studios output. The long tail is ravenous.

Forget all that people-production Web 2.0 nonsense. Viewers will soon tire of recycled Jackass stunts. There will be an increasing demand for quality as internet video goes mainstream.

The infrastructure required to deliver video-on-demand is substantial. Google are in a better to place to deliver on the promise than most.