All Those Online Videos, Still Chasing an Audience

All Those Online Videos, Still Chasing an Audience

Drumbeat would be too strong a word. But in recent months there’s been a steady patter of news indicating a fresh urgency in the world of original Web series: projects involving high-profile filmmakers, additional rounds of financing, redesigned and expanded video-sharing sites.

One thing that has characterized these developments is that they haven’t involved many actual, reviewable new series. (One exception was the Kiefer Sutherland vehicle “The Confession” on Hulu, which didn’t cause much of a stir but may be turned into a feature film anyway.)

The notion — driven by the success of Netflix and the rapid convergence of television and Internet technology — that there’s serious money on the horizon in streaming video has led to this latest excitement about Web series and a new interest in the crazy quilt of video sites that carry them. But for the most part there’s still a disconnect between the money and the creators, who range from D.I.Y. independents to successful but largely anonymous production companies.

Excerpt from an article in the New York Times. Click here for the full feature.