• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, May 6, 2005

Forget TV Guide, the major online portals are emerging as a new source for navigating TV programming. Inspired by Google's entry into the video search market, Yahoo! - the most TV-centric of the majors - has stepped up its video navigation services, announcing deals on Thursday with some of the biggest TV programming outlets, including Walt Disney Co.'s Buena Vista unit, CBS News, CMT, Discovery Communications, MTV, Reuters, Scripps Networks, and VH1.

Most importantly, Yahoo! said it is now making its new video search service widely available. Following five months of beta testing, Jeff Karnes, director of media search at Yahoo!, said the feature was ready for "prime time," citing the comprehensiveness of the content through partnerships Yahoo! has established, as well as some key technological improvements.

Among other things, Yahoo!'s Web media crawler now has the ability to extract meta data. Yahoo! will allow independent video publishers send links of their content via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) for inclusion in its database.

That move follows Google's entry into the consumer-generated video search marketplace. The search engine recently confirmed plans to enable any user to upload digital video files to its servers, making them available to any Web surfer to preview, play and download. The Google Video beta, which launched in January, presently consists of closed-caption content and metadata culled from broadcast TV. To help index the expected torrent of video submissions, Google will allow content owners to include metadata, captions, and transcripts with their files.

Another emerging Web player, Blinkx.tv, has also launched a service allowing viewers to search and view content ranging from news bulletins to movie trailers and home videos.

The moves are part of a progression that are transforming the way some people navigate video programming content, and corresponds with the launch of Web channels by major TV players including MTV and Turner Broadcasting System. Others have been using portals as a means of previewing or sampling new TV shows online to generate some buzz before their television premieres.

Yahoo!'s service points visitors to third-party sites for viewing video to avoid licensing issues. On Tuesday, Google announced several new content partnerships with providers, including Discovery Channel and CNN.

Yahoo! Video Search now also provides users with integrated access to video content from the Yahoo! network by including movie trailers from Yahoo! Movies; music videos from Yahoo! Music; and exclusive video from NBC's "The Apprentice," including the full confessionals from fired contestants; and "The Contender," including the full boxing match from each episode.

Yahoo!'s TV-related moves are not surprising. The company has telegraphed its intentions by surrounding itself with some well-regarded TV programming executives. The company's Chairman-CEO Terry Semel previously was chairman/co-CEO of Warner Bros. Lloyd Braun, head of Yahoo! Media Group, was co-chairman of ABC Entertainment Television Group before he moved to Yahoo!.

In addition to the new relationships, Yahoo! has already announced deals with a number of other video content sources. Through a deal with TVEyes, Yahoo! allows searching within Bloomberg video broadcasts, and direct links to the relevant portion of broadcasts. Other partners include Internet Broadcasting Systems, IFILM, The One Network, and Stupid Videos. Moreover, Yahoo! Video Search also obtains content from independent publishers and online video sites such as Internet Archive.

"We have a commitment to comprehensiveness, and technology and partnerships present the main roadblocks that keep us from reaching the breadth we're after," said Yahoo!'s Karnes. "It's clear where we need to focus our efforts moving forward."