PBS Launches a Broadband Video Portal

US public broadcaster, PBS, announced Wednesday the beta launch of a new PBS Video Portal (pbs.org/video) that features on-demand full-length PBS programs in multiple genres, as well as content from local PBS stations--all viewable through what the broadcaster describes as a "state-of-the-art" player. PBS says that the portal will eventually also offer feature-length films and documentaries, as well as live events and performances.

According to PBS, the portal, which will be monetized through banner ads, DVD sales and in-video sponsorship and advertising spots, will offer "thousands" of hours of programming, including such high-profile shows as "The American Experience," "American Masters," "Antiques Roadshow," "Frontline," "Frontline/World," "Great Performances," "Julia Child Cooking with Master Chefs," "Masterpiece Theater," "Nature," "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer," "Nova," and "Nova ScienceNow." The length of time each title will be available on the portal will vary in accordance with the distribution strategy of its owner. PBS also says that plans are in place for its producers to deliver regular Web-original content to the new portal, and that the portal will offer curated "collections" of content from its extensive library. According to a report in the New York Times, the site will "allow users to upload video, make comments and otherwise interact with the site and one another." For example, the newspaper says, in conjunction with the new Ken Burns documentary series, "The National Parks," the site will invite viewers to upload their own videos of US national parks.

To mark the fact that the portal was officially launched on Earth Day, it is currently showcasing a series of environmentally themed programs, including full episodes from "Frontline," "Nova," "Jean Michel Cousteau Ocean Adventures," "Planet Forward," and "Nature." Each of the programs "addresses the causes of our planet's environmental crisis and suggests ways to reverse the course," PBS says.

The portal allows users to search for programming by theme, episode, host and date. PBS says that the service will provide local PBS stations with easy access to signature programming for their Web sites, as well as the ability to share their own locally produced programming with a national audience and other PBS stations (this, the broadcaster says, will provide increased opportunities for local producers to be discovered by national audiences). "This launch illustrates our commitment to deliver PBS's signature programming to the widest possible market," Jason Seiken, PBS's SVP of interactive, said in a prepared statement. "Our goal is to ensure that audiences have online access to the remarkable depth and breadth of PBS programming--in a format that puts the user in control."

PBS is also using the portal to premiere new programming: the first episode of "Time Team America"--a new show that features a team of archaeologists who visit "America's most intriguing archaeological dig sites" and "race against the clock uncovering the past as they unearth the site's buried secrets" (note: the show is based on the "Time Team" format that originally aired on the UK's Channel 4)--is being made available on the site in advance of its broadcast premiere in July. "Having the ability to reach a national audience through PBS.org expands our mission in a way we could not do otherwise," Oregon Public Broadcasting president and CEO, Steve Bass, said in a prepared statement. "For OPB-produced national series like 'Time Team America' and 'History Detectives,' the player lets us meet the audience wherever they live. It gives us one more way to enrich their experience."

PBS says that the new portal is part of an ongoing strategy to attract new audiences and become the "premiere multimedia destination for online content in science, history, children's programming, documentaries, dramas and live performances." As part of that strategy, last September the broadcaster launched a broadband video service for children, the PBS KIDS GO! Video Player, which it claims is now streaming over a million video clips a week, and which now also offers a range of interactive games. PBS member stations can link to the service from their Web sites and can also incorporate its player component as a module on their sites.