YouTube founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen will make an appearance on Oprah tomorrow to promote Oprah’s new channel. So far it consists of YouTube star appearances on Oprah, notably Tyson the skateboarding dog, and promises exclusive behind the scenes features in weeks to come.
Oprah has been slow to offer much in the way of online video aside from show previews. Then again, she has built a multibillion dollar brand on people who have nothing else to do in the middle of the day so the web hasn’t figured heavily into the equation yet.
Online presents an opportunity to extend the brand into new places by more effectively reaching younger and international audiences. But to do this also requires giving up some control.
Oprah’s channel includes a big fat disclaimer about the limited number of comments they will post and she doesn’t want people embedding her content, at least not yet.