The move to bring original programming to the web continues to heat up this week, with today’s announcement of Reuters TV, a new YouTube channel featuring ten new commentary and analysis shows from the news and media division of Thomson Reuters.
The new channel joins nearly 100 other media partners on YouTube who are delivering original content, including a few big names like eHow, Motor Trend, Pitchfork TV, TED, The Onion, WSJ, WWE and more.
Reuters, however, is arguably the biggest news provider among the 100 being featured on YouTube’s partner page. And plans for its newly arrived TV news channel are no small effort.
According to the company’s announcement, the YouTube channel won’t mimic traditional TV, but will use an editing style that’s “suited for Internet programming.” Reuters global exec producer Barclay Palmer developed the shows, which will be “high energy” (oh, so that’s what they mean by “Internet programming,” hmm?) and will include reports and commentary from the outlet’s nearly 3,000 journalists worldwide.
The 10 new shows include the following:
- Reuters Investigates, featuring investigative journalism and special reports from around the world, in coordination with Reuters award-winning Enterprise unit;
- The Trail, with Reuters political reporters covering the presidential candidates on the campaign trail;
- Felix TV, with Reuters finance blogger Felix Salmon, named by Time magazine one of the Top 25 financial bloggers;
- Media Bite, featuring Peter Lauria, editor of technology, media & telecommunications, and his team of reporters covering a media world experiencing massive change;
- Tech Tonic, with Anthony De Rosa, Reuters Digital’s social media editor, dubbed by The New York Times “the undisputed king of Tumblr”;
- Freeland File, with Reuters Digital editor Chrystia Freeland interviewing top newsmakers;
- Fast Forward, hosted by Chrystia Freeland and featuring Reuters’ top commentators and journalists, including David Rohde, Reuters columnist, author and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize; Rob Cox, US editor of Breakingviews; Bethany McLean, Reuters columnist, Vanity Fair contributor and author; David Cay Johnston, tax expert, author and Pulitzer Prize winner; Geraldine Fabrikant, Reuters columnist, senior writer for The New York Times and winner of the Loeb Award; Steven Brill, Reuters columnist, author and founder of the Yale Journalism Initiative; Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group; James Ledbetter, Reuters Op-ed editor and author;
- Money Clip, with Lauren Young, personal finance editor and former editor at BusinessWeek and SmartMoney;
- Rough Cuts, with Jen Rogers, showcasing the remarkable news video that Reuters video journalists shoot around the world, allowing viewers to see and hear that video in greater depth than most television networks can offer;
- Decoder, explaining in succinct and surprising ways the key topics in the news, ranging from the debt ceiling to the Strait of Hormuz.
Reuters is kicking off the launch with an exclusive interview from Chrystia Freeland with Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire and sportsman who has made the controversial announcement that he is running for president in Russia, challenging Vladimir Putin.
YouTube is spending $100 million on original programming, and is attempting to line up big media partners, including distributors, studios and other content producers.
It’s only one of many companies competing in the newly hot Internet TV space in recent months. Just yesterday, for example, we covered Hulu’s move into original programming with its plans to launch Battleground, a new scripted show. Netflix also has plans for original shows including Lilyhammer, House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey, and it’s resurrecting Arrested Development. Tom Hanks is making a cartoon TV series for Yahoo. MTV Networks’ NextMovie site just snagged vlogger Sarah Austin today for scripted content. MTVN’s Comedy Central property also moved to bulk up web show production this past spring.
Looks like Pseduo’s dream is now, in 2012, finally coming true.