YouTube Streaming Full-Length TV Shows

In an effort to generate more ad revenue, YouTube has said it will begin showing full-length television programs in addition to its shorter video clips.

The Google-owned YouTube will begin with shows from CBS Corporation including "The Young and the Restless," "90210," "Dexter," and "Californication." The online video-sharing site said it is in talks with other media partners as well.

YouTube will sell commercial slots for advertisements that would run before, during, or after the full-length videos. At this point, CBS will sell the ads and YouTube will take a cut in the revenue.

The Wall Street Journal reports how YouTube resisted this format in the past in fear of losing viewers of the shorter clips. Large advertisers say they prefer their ads to run with predictable online video content instead of the popular YouTube user-generated content.

Other websites that show full-length content include ABC.com and Hulu.

YouTube has a received a good deal of attention regarding its announcement. On Search Engine Land, Greg Sterling predicts this move will result in people becoming less interested in user-generated content.

This is an interesting move on YouTube's part and it will be even more interesting to see how it plays out.

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