Report: YouTube begins experimenting with long-form video
Short clips have always been YouTube's bread and butter, but with the company struggling to generate revenue, the Web's No. 1 video-sharing site is experimenting with long-form videos.
YouTube has for a long time allowed several videographers with a YouTube director's account to post videos longer than the standard 10-minute maximum allowed on the site.
But the company now seems more serious about offering long-form videos more widely. During the Los Angeles Film Festival this week, YouTube began pitching independent directors about showcasing their work on the site, according to a story published Wednesday at the Web site of Fortune magazine.
Examples of clips available on the site that already surpass the 10-minute limit are an entire episode from Showtime Network's The Tudors, a series about Elizabethan England, and a 90-minute comedy called Howard Buttelman, Daredevil Stuntman. YouTube was not immediately available for comment
The experiments with longer videos come as YouTube struggles to cash in on its huge audience. Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said this several times this year, and lifting the length of videos means that YouTube may get a crack at full-length TV shows and films.
Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg.
KieranMullen
360Oregon.com
WHY WHY WHY? Its been 1 year since I tried posting any other video because of this issue.