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Online Startup Hopes To Give YouTube Competition

Jul 24, 2007 7:20 pm US/Pacific 

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Sue Kwon
Reporting

(CBS 5) SAUSALITO Sausalito based crackle.com launches with a new website and a big backer. Josh Felser founded the online video site once called Grouper.

Sony bought it a year ago for $65-million. It restructured the site, packed it with higher end content and renamed it "Crackle."

"It's not for the skateboarder who wants to shoot his friend landing on his head. That's more the environment for YouTube, not for us," Felser said.

It's clear to giants like Sony and YouTube that online video is not just a fad. YouTube and MySpace are the most popular video viewing sites.

But, there are dozens more. Crackle hopes to pop with content made by professionals.

"We are seeking to take the next generation of producer and actor and expose them to a large audience not just on Crackle but on the internet and on devices like Sony's Bravia and cell phones," Felser said.

Felser believes the good stuff will come because unlike YouTube, Crackle pays.

"We're spending $5 -15,000 an episode," Felser said.

Filmmaker Jen Gilomen says the boom in online video is offering more opportunity for independent producers.

"That's what the independent production community is hankering for. They want to have new outlets for pieces but be recognized for work and be awarded for it in some way," Gilomen said.

Her documentary about power production in the United States called "Ghosts of Appalachia" should be completed in a year. It will likely show on a computer screen year you.

She is working on it at the Bay Area Video Coalition facility where an increasing number of students are signing up to learn high end video production skills. It's a trend brought on by the increase in online video venues.

While Crackle's 12 channels of shorts, comedy, and animation are clearly not features hacked together with cell phone video, the key is getting people to notice the difference.

Felser says, "The bar is being raised. Now the audience says now we've seen video of people jumping off roofs. I want a higher quality experience."

Crackle.com has ground to cover. It has 25 million unique monthly visitors. YouTube has 150 million.



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