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In a reflection of its expanding premium content strategy, YouTube has unveiled two new original channels focused on cars: Motor Trend and Drive. The Motor Trend channel, created by Source Interlink Media, will include original content from the likes of Motor Trend. Meanwhile Drive will take viewers behind the scenes and "[celebrate] the rich culture of cars." Content will include news, reviews and commentary from industry figures such as Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli, Leo Parente, and Alex Roy.

Reddit is now making a concerted effort to court top brand-name consumer advertisers by weaving them into original video programming. This comes as it aims to broaden its appeal beyond its huge core tech-savvy community.

looks like Xbox is looking into original TV programming

another on Xbox originals

"Sony has announced that it will be launching the first 4K video distribution service for consumers, giving 4K TV buyers their first real source of content. We don't have much information about the service, but it will be launching in the US this summer, both potentially creating a 4K market and giving Sony an edge. It's something Sony originally tried with 3D, trying to handle all facets of the feature from content creation to distribution and playback. "We intend to expand the world of 4K content from beyond the cinema to TV dramas and commercials," Sony's Kaz Hirai said during the conference at CES. Sony has already announced a series of remastered 4K Blu-rays, and as with 3D, the company is trying to sell studios on the benefits of 4K. Meanwhile, it's announced the first-ever 4K OLED prototype TV and new models of its consumer-ready 4K TVs. In the US, though, super high-def digital distribution could be hampered by ISPs, which aren't likely to look kindly on the stress this will cause their pipes."

But at Tumblr, at least, there's something else very interesting going on: according to Karp, there are 9 curators for every creator on his site. Reblogging, on Tumblr, is so easy that the vast majority of Tumblr sites actually create little or no original content: they just republish content from other people. That's a wonderful thing, for two reasons. Firstly, it takes people who are shy about (or just not very good at) creating their own content, and gives them a great way to express themselves online. (As Arianna Huffington says, "self-expression is the new entertainment".) And secondly, it acts as a natural amplifier for the people who do create original content - the average post on Tumblr gets reblogged nine times, and therefore reaches vastly more people than if it just sat on its original site waiting to be discovered by people visiting it directly.

In addition to Facebook's announcement of a new partnership with the MLB to live stream a number of regular season games, the social network this week also signed a deal with global esports company ESL to bring over 5,550 hours of esports events and other original content to Facebook, including 1,500 of original programming.

"The video walls tell the Lacoste story, while promoting merchandise through the evolution of the product. The content tells the brand story from conception, to the first clothing line and materials used, and segues to current days where there are many colors available based on the original concept of René Lacoste. The content was developed by Lacoste and is updated remotely by Lacoste headquarters."

news site that integrates community bloggers, facebook, twitter, flickr, foursquare, allows crowdsourcing of stories- readers can add missing info, feeds specified based on readers location

Reddit experimenting with web programming by releasing an original video series called 'Explain Like I'm Five.' The three episodes draw inspiration from the subreddit of the same name, where users discuss complex political and social issues in a simplified manner.

another article

Cody also acts as a kind of virtual coach. When users first load the app, they're asked to identify their goals - from losing weight to building muscle tone to de-stressing. For now, the app just surfaces original content about workouts, healthy living and other topics that match up with those goals. But, ultimately, Javid said, the plan is for Cody to learn from users' activity and recommend articles, workouts, people or places that fit their interests. In time, he added, the app could integrate with fitness tracking devices to get an even more comprehensive view of each user.