Is AOL Looking To Go Head-to-Head With YouTube?

By Megan O'Neill at Social Times:  
On Tuesday at the Digital Content NewFronts, AOL launched a brand new online video hub that will centralize all AOL video in one place.  The AOL On Network seems to have a lot in common with many of YouTube’s new initiatives.  The service will feature 14 content channels with original, curated content for all sorts of niches from entertainment to tech, style, food, business, health, travel and more.

AOL CEO Tim Armstrong says, “AOL is a brand company.  With the launch of AOL On we are bringing people closer to the things that matter while helping them discover and share the stories and information that color their lives.”
The AOL On Network will aggregate new content with video content from the AOL family of sites, including TechCrunch, The Huffington Post, Engadget and others.  PCMag reports that the content represents “a potential viewer audience around 57 million in the U.S.  In addition to the desktop experience, AOL On will also focus a good deal of effort on delivering content to specialized television boxes such as Roku, Google TV, Boxee, AOL On HD via Samsung and Sony, as well as mobile platforms like tablets and smartphones.”
At the NewFronts, AOL also announced that as part of AOL On they will be launching seven original shows.  The shows include ‘Digital Justice,’ a weekly reality show about Internet crime, and ‘Fetching, ’ from ‘Sex and the City’ writer Amy Harris.  ‘Fetching’ will star Collette Wolfe and Sandra Vergara and is about a lawyer that quits her job, leaves her fiancé and opens a doggie day-care business.
Additionally, AOL On will feature playlists curated by celebrities like Rachel Ray, Heidi Klum, and ‘Entourage’ actor Adrian Grenier.
Check out the Beet.TV interview with Ran Harnevo, SVP, Video at AOL On, below to find out more about the launch, check out the service at on.aol.com and let us know what you think!