And even though critics question whether new media can rival a business that has been around for about 70 years, the video sites have sought partnerships with seasoned professionals. And they benefit from the different economics of global Web-based entertainment.
Either way, what is happening now is just the first wave.
“This convergence is now,’’ said documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, who created “The Failure Club,’’ a series about people trying to do the things they have always feared, for Yahoo, and “A Day in the Life,’’ a series documenting 24 hours of someone’s life, for Hulu.
He says the quality still varies, but viewers will see talent and production values changing.
On Feb. 6, Netflix will premiere its first scripted show, “Lilyhammer,’’ in which Steve Van Zandt (“The Sopranos’’) plays a New York mobster in witness protection in Norway.
Hulu plans a Feb. 14 premiere for “Battleground,’’ a mock political documentary. Later, it will release “Up to Speed,’’ a six-part documentary by Richard Linklater about monumentally ignored monuments of American cities.
YouTube recently launched an entire catalog of original programming, spending $100 million on the gradual rollout of more than 100 niche-oriented channels.
The channels don’t have the pressures of a 24-hour schedule and instead focus on short-form, on-demand programming.
And online systems can serve niche audiences that would be difficult to sustain any other way and do so at lower cost.
