• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 16, 2009

Video-sharing site Motionbox has raised an additional $6 million in Series C funding, the company said Thursday. In addition, the minor YouTube competitor has promoted its Chief Operating Officer Josh Grotstein to CEO.

"Online video in 2009 is today where the Web was in 1996, ready to explode in various directions and niches," said Grotstein. "In the personal video arena, where safety, ease of use, and quality are all critical elements, Motionbox's platform can't be surpassed."

But Grotstein is not the only believer in Motionbox's services. The company recently received a huge boost from AOL, which recommended Motionbox as a replacement to its ill-fated video service, AOL Uncut.

Grotstein has been working with the company as its chief operating officer since the spring of 2008, and was tapped by the board and the founder and standing CEO, Chris O'Brien.

O'Brien will now serve as chairman of the board and as EVP of strategy and corporate development.

To date, Motionbox has raised $17.2 million. This latest round of funding was led by existing investor Constellation Ventures, along with participation from earlier investors, Canaan Partners and SAS Investors.

Prior to Motionbox, Grotstein was at NBC, where he founded and ran the company's digital unit, as well as Citigroup, where he ran the corporation's global Internet and e-commerce programs. Most recently, Grotstein was one of the founding partners of SAS Investors.

Based in New York, Motionbox originally launched its free video-sharing service in 2006. Exploring various monetization strategies, Motionbox recently launched a subscription service allowing for high-quality video flipbooks dubbed Motionbooks.