YouTube eyes Hollywood talent for content

YouTube is enlisting Hollywood's help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.

The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors and other filmmakers, using a $100 million pot of seed money it committed last fall. It's YouTube's largest spending on original content so far.

YouTube believes it is laying groundwork for the future. While the number of traditional TV watchers has leveled off in recent years, more and more people are watching video on mobile phones, tablets and computers, especially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic that advertisers covet.

The idea is to create 96 additional YouTube channels, where viewers can see existing video clips and be notified about new content. YouTube is betting that well-funded videos by a select roster of stars are likely to be more watchable -- and more profitable -- than the average YouTube fare of cute cats and webcam monologues.

The seed money has enticed some of TV's biggest stars, including "Fast Five" director Justin Lin, "CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker and Nancy Tellem, ex-president of CBS Network Television Entertainment.

For producers, it's a chance to create shows free of meddling from major studios. "We want to jointly take the risk with YouTube and roll the dice on the future," Zuiker says.

YouTube isn't the only Web video service that has started to pay for original content. But YouTube videos tend to be under 10 minutes, compared with traditional half-hour or hourlong slots. And aside from a few guidelines, the artist gets ultimate control, including what is uploaded and when new episodes appear.