Google is expected to unveil a search engine for Web-only video this summer that will let people preview media clips from its Web site, CNET News.com reported.
Google’s planned service will let visitors find free short-form videos such as the popular “Star Wars” video spoofs, the report said. The engine will complement the search giant’s existing experimental site that lets people search the closed-caption text of television shows from PBS and CNN, among others, and preview accompanying still images.
The new capabilities will let people watch roughly 10 seconds of Web video clips for free before shuttling visitors to the video’s host site. CNET said the new video search engine will be unveiled within the next two months.
Longer term, Google is preparing a payment system for a premium video service that would let people pay to watch full video clips. Google is talking to several top-tier content providers, including Hollywood movie studios, to gain agreements for aggregating their video and selling premium or pay-per-view access.
The Mountain View, CA-based search giant outlined plans for a payment service when it launched its video-upload program in April. The program solicits video submissions to Google’s searchable video archives, inviting small and major producers alike to submit work and grant copyrights to the company. Google said on its FAQ page that it will let content producers host and sell access to their video using Google servers. It has yet to launch the service for public consumption.