• The New York Times, Tuesday, November 11, 2008 11 AM

New York Times technology writer Saul Hansell says Google's recent move to put feature-length films and TV shows on YouTube is -- like most of the online video giant's forays into professional content -- more show than substance. Hansell claims that Google is merely intimating that the professional video market could become a core moneymaking strategy for YouTube, without really making the commitment to it.

Meanwhile, Hulu.com, the joint venture from NBC and Fox, is starting to establish itself as the most prominent site for professional TV shows and movies. As Jim Packer, MGM's co-president, tells the Times, "We will have some long-form videos up on YouTube, but I don't think that's the platform to have 30 or 40 movies up at once. I feel much more comfortable doing that on a site like Hulu."

Hansell says there are several reasons for this, not the least of which is YouTube's "historically lax attitude" about copyrighted material. Another worry is the rising power of Google as content distributor. Yet another worry for studios is having one of their feature films line up alongside user made home videos. Hansell also thinks the YouTube site itself is a problem. "It is visually distracting, and I never can find what I want when I want it." He says that the YouTube page for "American Gladiators" offers a poorer, more confusing user experience than the same page on Hulu.

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