YouTube Adds Full-Length CBS Content

Good news for YouTube users! YouTube, Google-owned video sharing site, has struck a deal with CBS and from today onwards, YouTube will air full-length CBS TV shows.

YouTube will be benefited from this deal as pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads will be sold by CBS and out of the total profits YouTube will get its pre-decided share.

YouTube refused to comment on the terms and conditions of the revenue-sharing agreement.

A list of selected shows includes old and new shows like "MacGyver," "Star Trek" and the original "Beverly Hills 90210," the season premieres of Showtime's "Dexter" and "Californication," and current episodes of "The Young and the Restless."

Over the past one year, YouTube has featured a number of full length TV contents like that of documentary films and premieres for Showtime and HBO shows.

The earlier trials to upload full-length TV content had been quiet successful which is why this new deal has finally come through, Jordan Hoffner, director of content partnerships said.

Also another example is that of popular video sharing site Hulu’s joint venture with NBC Universal, News Corp., and ABC.com which in itself is a great hit. This shows that there is certainly a market for these kind of ventures, Hoffner added.

Hoffner pointed out that this is the first time that the company is involved in such a venture and is putting up full-length TV content from a partner on a consistent basis. Also he acknowledged that other partners will join the company soon.

Syndicating its full-length TV content is the video distribution strategy adopted by CBS. CBS has such deals with other sites as well. Approximately half of the web-streaming traffic is directed from CBS’s distribution partners to its own site, CBS.com.

To accelerate the popularity of this new venture among the users, YouTube has launched a new player, Theater View for the longer-form content.

Theater View plays video in a higher-quality 16:9 format to generate a less pixelated view. The full screen view can actually be enjoyed while laying back comfortably, Shiva Rajaraman, senior product manager remarked.

"On this type of content we believe customers accept and the content experience merits in-stream ads," Rajaraman further said.