Online TV sees big year

It’s the year for online TV.

If you’ve had your fill of skateboarding accidents, homemade comedy clips and personal video diaries – in other words, if you’re not as crazy about YouTube as you used to be – you’re not alone.

While sites like YouTube, Revver and MetaCafe will continue to create instant celebrities and catch-phrases in 2008 (“Leave Britney alone!” and “Don’t tase me, bro!”), the moment for user-generated video sites seems to have passed.

In its place, this will be the year when network television starts to make an impact on the Web. There already are excellent sites where you can watch full-length shows.

NBC and Fox are getting a lot of attention for Hulu, a terribly-named joint effort where viewers can watch programs from both companies’ various networks.

To watch Hulu (currently in beta) one has to sign up for a free account and then use the site as a Web video interface. Its main page and interface is simple and attractive, making it easy to find programs you want to watch. Shows have limited commercial interruptions (far fewer than you’d get on TV), which is typical of streamed network shows.

The other major networks, ABC, CBS and the CW, all offer free streaming video from their sites, and it’s a great way to catch up with programs you’ve missed.

Software company Adobe will offer a major video launch soon, and I’m curious how it will play out.