Independent TV broadcaster Hearst-Argyle Television, which owns 26 television stations and reaches approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, has announced a deal with [tag]YouTube[/tag] to begin offering local TV video content online. Locations will include: Baltimore, Boston, N.H., Manchester, Pittsburgh and Sacramento.

The Hearst-Argyle YouTube Channels will be populated with news, weather, and entertainment videos as well as with original, local television programming such as ‘Chronicle’ on WCVB, one of New England’s most honored television programs. YouTube will also serve as a platform to support Hearst-Argyle’s new [tag]digital video[/tag] initiatives including high school football, basketball and local amateur entertainment.

“We’re constantly looking at innovative ways to not only bring the YouTube community the best [tag-tec]video content[/tag-tec] out there, but also to find ways to bring them the most relevant programming”,  said Jordan Hoffner, Head of Premium Content Partnerships for YouTube. “Local content creates relevance and this agreement will ultimately deliver Hearst-Argyle’s programming to an even broader audience looking for local content. We look forward to continue working with the Hearst-Argyle team as we launch new products and services on the local level”.

“This great innovative deal with YouTube fits perfectly within our overall digital strategy of distributing our content on all three screens, the TV, the PC and the mobile phone”,  said Terry Mackin, Executive Vice President of Hearst-Argyle Television. “We have invested significant resources in our growing [tag]digital media[/tag] efforts. With Google and YouTube, we can now better engage users and advertisers with our award winning local video content and with new user generated content while further broadening our reach beyond the boundaries of our media markets”.

YouTube is really pushing ahead to expand content selection into nontraditional areas like locally generated news and event related content. Users that may otherwise not have a reason to visit YouTube now have a great offering of video content that they probably wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else, to entice them inside.

Filed under: internet video news

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