One of the biggest beneficiaries of the rise of social media, especially Twitter and Facebook, has been Ustream.
Its live video service has served as the perfect complement to the status update, and with an increasing number of celebrities flocking to it and viral chat features that integrate with social sites, some broadcasts are now able to attract thousands of viewers.
Now, some of Ustream’s more popular users are going to be able to cash in. The site has become the first video service outside of YouTube to let users make money through Google-served advertising with the Ustream Partner Program.
Users who are approved for the program (anyone who is in YouTube’s Partner Program is pre-approved) will be able to insert a variety of ads into their shows. Beyond allowing popular Internet broadcasters to make money, Ustream sees an opportunity in radio broadcasters like Fox News Radio that use the service replacing what was previously dead air during commercial time-outs with Google-powered ads.
Ustream also thinks the live video format could lead to better performing video advertising. Founder and President Brad Hunstable told me in a conversation last night that initial tests show far lower abandonment rates when they show ads, because users are “more willing to sit through a 30 second pre-roll to get to a webcast,” which often lasts far longer than a typical YouTube video.