public.tv vs youtube

I've been looking into the possibility of getting some of our Council's videos online, following a number of requests. Possible examples include footage of awards ceremonies , interviews with service providers, and content presented in British Sign Language as an alternative to text.

Part of the business case that I'm writing involves appraising the options for hosting such videos. Option 1, in-house hosting, seem an unlikely choice due to recent performance issues and the potential demands such content could place on our servers. Options 2 and 3 are outlined below:

Option 2 - Youtube

Summary

Youtube is an internationally recognised brand, now owned by Google. Nottinghamshire County Council posted a number of videos onto Youtube in January 2008, featuring the CEO discussing staff restructuring.

Costs and issues

Currently there is no charge for posting content to Youtube. A potential risk is that Google have announced that they intend to introduce advertising to Youtube videos in 2008 , and the nature and suitability of these adverts can not yet be ascertained. There are also no guarantees over the permanence or quality of service provided.

Restricted access

A problem also exists in that Youtube is currently blocked by the Council’s web filters. A change in policy would be required to allow access either for selected staff only or on a Council-wide level.

Option 3 - public.tv

Summary

Many local organisations and government bodies have posted content to public.tv – a site owned by media company Ten Alps. This includes the Scottish Government, Scottish Parliament and the University of Edinburgh.

Costs and issues

There is no charge to post videos to public.tv. As with Youtube, there are no guarantees over the permanence or quality of service provided. The public.tv is not blocked by the Council filters. Advertising is present on the public.tv website, but does not appear within the video presentation itself.

Based on these findings my colleagues are now looking more closely at Public.tv to see what it can offer us. I'm excited by the possibilities that this sort of feature could present to us, and will post details of any progress here in due course.

Update 31st Dec 2008 - I've just noticed that the Public.tv site seems to be down, displaying only a 'coming soon' message. Not sure what's going on there...