Fox News Launches YouTube Election Channel
Fox News Channel has created an outlet for election-related video segments on YouTube, aiming to cultivate an eclectic audience of Web surfers and build viewership for its TV programming.
The YouTube channel, dubbed “America’s Election HQ” comprises a selection of video segments featuring FNC anchors Brit Hume, Chris Wallace, Shepard Smith, Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, Alan Colmes and Greta Van Susteren. Fox is also offering reports from the presidential campaign trail and clips from the FoxNews.com’s “Strategy Room,” a political talk show that streams daily online.
All the clips are two or three minutes long on average, with some interview segments a bit longer.
“It reaches a different, broader audience,” said Jeff Misenti, vice president and general manager for Fox News Digital. “People are consuming news in different ways.”
Misenti said the ultimate objective is to draw some of those Web viewers to the Fox News Channel on cable.
“You get a lot of stumble-on traffic where people will come and find news,” he said. “Hopefully you’re getting some additional sampling that way.”
Visitors to the channel can register their reactions to what they see by rating and commenting on the clips. They can also search for clips from specific FNC shows.
The YouTube channel also provides an additional revenue stream for advertising packaged with the cable network.
The creation of the election channel is part of a pre-existing deal Fox News has with YouTube. Beyond the presidential election, Misenti said Fox News will likely maintain a presence on YouTube, but the theme of that post-election channel is yet to be determined.
