Paris-based video upload site Dailymotion is trying to prove viewers will watch long-form content on the web, launching Cinema Dailymotion – a space for “streaming feature-length films and documentaries” (see release). It’s also inked new content partnership deals to take indie films from IFC Films, Magnolia Pictures, Film Independent and Strand Releasing. Dailymotion is making the biggest noise about Red Without Blue – a film by IndiePix. But this is geoblocked, is one of only 11 videos at the Cinema Dailymotion site and all the rest are merely short trailers.
Now that the plethora of video upstarts are realising there’s little competing with YouTube on UGC, they’re looking around for professional-ish content to differentiate themselves – not just TV, but film. Struggling P2P TV platform Babelgum fired the starting gun on courting the indie film community, where content-hungry distribution platforms will find plenty of good-looking flicks and producers only to keen to show their wares. Dailymotion, which last month started “HD” video publishing, may be able to tap in to France’s rich film-making heritage, but there’s little to see so far.