YouTube has finally announced after months of talks about deals with major media companies that they are now offering new sections on the site dedicated specifically to movies and television shows.
Partners include Crackle, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate, Starz and many others, which contribute thousands of television show episodes and hundreds of films. They also bring the social element of YouTube along with them because users can still comment, favorite, and share the videos.
“This addition is one of many efforts underway to ensure that we’re offering you all the different kinds of video you want to see, from bedroom vlogs and citizen journalism reports to music videos and full-length films and TV shows,” says the YouTube team in a blog post.
Obviously this puts YouTube in even more direct competition with Hulu, which specializes in TV shows and movies. Though Hulu has been growing steadily in popularity, YouTube is still ahead by far. This could push the site that much further out in front.
YouTube also announced a wider roll-out of in-stream ads, which they have been testing since October. Hulu users and television watchers are already used to this.
At this point, shows and movies are only available in the US. However, YouTube intends to expand the features into other regions “as soon as possible. They also note that the “subscriptions” tab will be available worldwide within the next several weeks.
