Family community services senior Lindsay Hollinger can't find her hometown TV stations on any channels in Lansing, but now the Pittsburgh native can stay up-to-date because of a recent sharing agreement between YouTube.com, Google and Hearst-Argyle Television Inc.
Hollinger said the new program will help her to keep in touch with current events back home.
"I'm really into sports, so I've gone on (YouTube) because they have video on the new Penguins' arena in Pittsburgh," she said. "It's nothing new to be interested in my hometown news."
On Monday, the three companies announced a sharing agreement to air local video content on YouTube.
This agreement marks the first time YouTube and Google have entered a sharing agreement with an independent TV company.
"The partnership will allow Internet users across the world to find new ways to experience and enjoy Hearst-Argyle television stations' content through YouTube," Vanessa Flores, a YouTube spokeswoman said in an e-mail, adding that the content can be viewed anywhere, anytime on YouTube.
Five local stations in Boston, Manchester, N.H., Sacramento, Calif., Pittsburgh and Baltimore will have dedicated channels on YouTube, Flores said.
More content from other stations and markets could be added over time, she said.
"For each of the five Hearst-Argyle television stations included in the content syndication deal ? a branded channel will be developed on YouTube, on which each station will frequently post local video content," Flores said.
This new program allows Hearst-Argyle to digitally expand from TV to the Internet and mobile phone.
The Hearst-Argyle YouTube channels are online, and will include entertainment, news, weather and original, local television programming like "Chronicle," on WCVB in Boston.
YouTube also will showcase local high school sports and amateur entertainment as a part of Hearst-Argyle's new digital video plan.
"Hearst-Argyle will be able to share its content with YouTube's vast community," Flores said. "With this partnership, YouTube will be able to bring compelling content to Google users and the YouTube community."
The current program doesn't include any local stations in the Lansing area, but if it did, general management junior Edwin Hughes said he probably wouldn't use it regularly.
"If I'm away and something important happens, I'd watch it," Hughes said, adding that he uses YouTube to watch entertainment videos.
