Following a growing trend among major broadcasters, PBS will make even more content available online through pbs.org/video, with videos to be added throughout the summer.
Although services like Hulu and YouTube have made online video popular, PBS has offered a lot of its content online for several years. And while PBS does have official channels on YouTube, Hulu and NBC Universal, this dedicated online video site will host thousands of hours of PBS video.
For example, the Hulu PBS channel has more than 130 hours of PBS programming available -- and more videos are continually being added. The official PBS video web site will offer thousands of hours of content not available elsewhere online, according to sources.
The PBS audience that watches the company's programming on TV usually is an older demographic, while pbs.org/video will be aimed more towards the younger audience. As broadcasters look to create new revenue streams, it makes perfect sense PBS wants to make more content available to viewers. Last year, the broadcaster launched pbskidsgo.org/video, an online video site for children.
I'm interested to see what else PBS intends to do to try and attract new young viewers to its content. Will the broadcaster be able to get a generation of "connected" users to watch ad-supported online content, and possibly donate funds to the channel?
A number of other broadcasters have created dedicated portals for their content, while also sharing videos with Hulu and other online video sites. NBC, ABC, Disney, and others hope to create ways to monetize videos as YouTube struggles to generate revenue from its large viewership.
