Maybe YouTube can do what the European Commission can’t: break open the internet browser market.
That is one intriguing possibility raised by a YouTube prompt that invites some visitors to the site to select a new browser (image from TechCrunch, after the jump). They are given three options: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.5 (in that order).
It’s surely no coincidence that this is the approach the EC has been trying to force on Microsoft. Brussels wants Microsoft to provide Windows users with a “ballot screen” offering them a choice of browsers (likely also to include Safari and Opera).
A TechCrunch reader spotted the prompt when accessing YouTube using IE6. That browser, launched with Windows XP, is eight years old and its market share has fallen to 17 per cent, according to Net Applications, so maybe it’s not a surprise that YouTube is preparing to drop support. A spokesperson for Microsoft suggests that the timing is normal and adds that Microsoft itself advises users to upgrade to the latest edition of IE.
Still, given the size of YouTube’s audience, 17 per cent is still a very big number. It translates into around 60m global unique monthly visitors, based on recent comScore data. To put it into perspective, that is twice the number of Chrome browser users that Google claimed when it announced the Chrome OS last week. So converting a sizeable share of YouTube’s IE6 audience to Chrome could make a big difference.
Google already promotes Chrome on its search engine home page, but it needs to be particulalry careful about decisions like this that involve dropping support for Microsoft products. As its influence spreads, the regulators will be watching.
