The Closing of the American Mind

[The Minsky Moment]

Jacob is right; it's more than that.

True old school traditional media like the big broadcast networks were great for advertising seeking to reach broad audiences but weren't as good for market segmentation.  That's why live sports were so desirable for advertisers, they allowed the beer companies etc. to target a specific demo; it's also why print continued to flourish in the era of broadcast TV.

Cable TV allowed more demo targeting but there were practical limits of overall bandwidth plus the cost of licensing and cable infrastructure.

Youtube is a microtargeting dream because is segments audiences into true enthusiasts for every imaginable niche and interest. And the content is generated at no fixed cost to the platform other than the cost of setting up the service and maintaining the servers, which can be spread across the entire platform.  No worries about recruiting, hiring, providing space and equipment, or even editing your content creators.