Star Trek and Beverly Hills 90210 come to YouTube

by Staff, Brand Republic 13-Oct-08, 10:10

LONDON - YouTube is to begin screening full-length programmes in a deal with CBS as it looks beyond short video clips and seeks to boost revenues.

Most importantly for owner Google, unlike millions of video clips that YouTube currently holds, these full length shows will include preroll, midroll and postroll advertising spots.

Shiva Rajaraman, a senior product manager for YouTube, said: "It's all about advertisers maximising their reach and using the most effective ad format for the user."

The introduction of so called "long-form content" comes after successes on other sites, such as ABC.com and the News Corporation and NBC Universal joint venture, Hulu, which have proved more attractive to advertisers. The success of long-form content on Hulu has helped it attract more than 100m video streams a month.

The deal with CBS includes a raft of programming including the Showtime series about serial killer 'Dexter', which airs on FX in the UK, and the David Duchovny-starring 'Californication'. Other shows included in addition to the original 'Star Trek' and 'Beverly Hills 90210' are 'MacGyver' and daytime soap 'The Young and the Restless'.

YouTube's delay in introducing long form content is thought to be down to a myriad of copyright problems and these have yet to be resolved.

Even as YouTube signed this deal, Viacom, a sister company of CBS, continues to pursue a $1bn lawsuit against YouTube and Google over copyright infringement.