Current TV/Yahoo Partnership (Plus, Digital Domain and YouTube)

Cool idea: Al Gore's Current TV and Yahoo are getting together to produce this site, which will blend one professionally-produced segment each day with 8-10 user-submitted segments. The main idea is to make sure all the user-submitted stuff is 'clean' (IE, no copyright infringement, porn, or profanity), so that Yahoo and Current can sell advertising around it. Of course, it may turn out that Net users prefer to watch edgier stuff...

The Wall Street Journal and NY Times have coverage of the deal. From Saul Hansell's piece in the Times:

Amateur videographers whose clips are chosen for the Internet service will receive $100. If the clips are also broadcast on Current’s [cable] television network, the maker will receive between $500 and $1000. Videos that are not selected to be part of the Yahoo Current offering will be included on Yahoo’s broader site that includes user-contributed video.

In other news...

- Digital Domain has poached three senior execs from Industrial LIght & Magic.

- And YouTube, ABC, and Cingular have announced a contest for unsigned bands who have made music videos. Web site visistors will select their favorites, and the finalists will get airtime on `Good Morning America.'