What Should We Watch After MacGyver? "Kicked in the Nuts" or "Cat Falls in Toilet"?

YouTube is finally expanding its catalog of long-form video beyond the “This video has been removed due to terms of use violation” notice that so often appears in lieu of network video content. A newly-inked deal with CBS (CBS) in hand, the video site has begun offering full-length episodes of TV series like “Dexter,” “Californication,” “MacGyver” and “Star Trek” alongside YouTube staples like “Cat Falls in Toilet” and “Kicked in the Nuts.” The shows will be presented in a new Theater View style. More importantly, they include advertising. “As we test this new format, we also want to ensure that our partners have more options when it comes to advertising on their full-length TV shows,” YouTube explained in a post to the company blog. “You may see in-stream video ads (including pre-, mid- and post-rolls) embedded in some of these episodes; this advertising format will only appear on premium content where you are most comfortable seeing such ads.”

For YouTube, which has been struggling to monetize the 330 million visitors coming its way each month, this may be the beginning of the business model that has so far eluded it. That said, the company is going to have to offer those visitors a bit more than grainy “MacGyver” reruns if it hopes to prevent them from turning to Hulu for premium long-form video content.