• ClickZ, Monday, April 20, 2009 11:15 AM

YouTube is embarking on the first phase of a redesign that will clearly separate professionally produced video from the user-generated clips that make up a majority of the content on the video sharing site. Among the changes noted by ClickZ are two new navigational tabs, marked "shows" and "subscriptions" that will appear on the YouTube masthead. The site is also dropping its "community" tab, which included contests, events and groups.

The changes are all about making the site more advertiser-friendly by increasing the amount of inventory available for in-stream ads. Advertisers participating in the Google TV Ads program will be able to bid on this inventory in addition to broadcast TV.

"Advertisers will be able to use Google TV Ads Online to reach the millions of people who come to YouTube to watch this content," Google said in a blog post. "That's not only good for advertisers, but content partners who are looking to generate revenue from their videos online." According to one source, YouTube's sales team has been pitching launch packages to agencies for close to six weeks.

Read the whole story at ClickZ »