Youtube planning to launch new vision for TV on the web

So over the next six months Youtube is planning to launch a new TV service, to change the somewhat grim idea of internet TV thus far.  Plans are for it to comprise of over 100 channels, and contain it's own producers, publishers and programmers.

This is to be part of a feature in next week's New Yorker where John Seabrook will be taking a look at the history of YouTube and it's strategy for the future.  Seabrooks also writes about VP of content at Google and Head of content at Youtube Robert Kyncl, who is spearheading what is described as the biggest change in television since the cable company led upheaval in the 80s broadcast industry, describing him as "architect of the single largest cultural transformation in YouTube's history."

While initial pre-conceptions are that YouTube is a massively successful web venture, with 48 hours of video uploaded every minute and traffic to the website being huge; but as Kyncl so eloquently says "We're absolutely nothing compared to TV."  He refers to the fact that whereas the video site receives 15 minutes of viewing time from the average YouTube user, this pales in comparison to the 4-5 hours invested in TV watching.  

So far, the rapid expansion of the sight has gone far beyond anyone's expectations, key names such as Disney, The Wall Street Journal and The Onion have already gravitated towards and established their own central hubs surrounding their YouTube channels.  Further expansion will be around giving the creator greater control, and an ability to establish a program lineup to their delectation.  But the question is, will this create a step in a direction away from the user-generated convention it already carries?  Will it define a distinctive enough split between the regular Joe and the networks?  Is that even the right way to go?  Guess there's only one way to find out.

Source: The New Yorker