YouTube
YouTube, originally created in 2005 and bought by Google in 2006, is arguably the most popular video sharing and viewing the site on the Web today. An extremely wide variety of multimedia content is available here: user-generated, TV clips, movie clips and movie trailers, video blogging (also known as “vlogging”), original Web series, and much more.
People all over the world use YouTube as a platform on which to share their lives; however, large corporations also take advantage of the incredibly large global audience available through YouTube to distribute their own multimedia content.
The site is extremely user-friendly, divided into categories ranging from Comedy to Sports, and is available for playback on multiple viewing platforms. More »
Dailymotion
DailyMotion, launched in 2005 and based in France, is the second largest video website in the world according to various Web measurements.
Videos at DailyMotion can be found several different ways; via categories (also known as channels, offering everything from Animals to Travel), by checking out the Most Viewed, Trending, or What’s Hot displays, browsing the Featured Users (official company presences on DailyMotion), or simply by typing in whatever you might be looking for into the DailyMotion search bar function. More »
Vevo
Vevo, unlike many of the other video websites mentioned on this list, is strictly for music videos and music videos only. Launched in 2009, Vevo offers the highest quality music multimedia from such organizations as Sony, Universal, EMI, CBS, and Walt Disney Records. According to multiple measuring statistics, Vevo has been ranked as the number one music multimedia platform on the Web.
Finding the video you want to watch at Vevo is quite easy. Look for your favorite song, artist, or band simply by typing a query into the Vevo search bar function, check out the Featured videos on the Vevo home page, see what’s on the What’s Hot list, or take a look at the Featured Channels, showcasing “themed” videos in such categories as “Essential 80s”. More »
Google Video
Google Video offers an easy to use, a streamlined search interface (much like all the rest of Google’s multiple properties online). Users can search for videos found on other video websites, such as YouTube, DailyMotion, and MetaCafe.
Literally millions of videos are available to watch at Google Video, indexed from a variety of sources all over the Web. Movie clips, entire movies, TV shows, and user-generated content can be found here using a variety of methods: keyword search, by length/duration, time of upload, source, etc. More »
Facebook takes its places as one of the most popular videos websites on the Web simply because of the size of its user base: over five hundred million people all over the world visit Facebook on a daily basis (many several times a day).
Facebook’s video feature works a bit differently that the rest of the video websites on this list. Viewing a video is possible in the following situations
- You have liked the video’s parent page
- You are part of the video poster’s network
- You have been tagged in the video
- A video has been directly sent to you via internal Facebook messaging
- A video has been posted onto your Facebook wall
Hulu
Hulu, created in 2007, is one of the premier video sites on the Web, offering a huge variety of high-quality multimedia content including the latest TV network productions, which makes it a very attractive option to users looking for better viewing options.
Viewers can watch an astonishing array of content on Hulu, including shows from NBC, Fox, ABC, Disney, and Nickelodeon. The latest (full length) episodes of many TV shows are offered within 24 hours of initial airing. Users can subscribe to Hulu Plus, a paid service, in order to access older archived versions of multimedia that has been retired; however, the most alluring feature of Hulu Plus is the ability to watch all of Hulu’s content on television sets, gaming consoles, and smartphones. More »
Viacom Network
According to several different measurement organizations that keep track of visits to various online properties, the Viacom multimedia network is one of the most popular on the Web. Their impressive stable of multimedia offerings include:
View the complete listing of Viacom’s digital assets, or take a look at their complete index of brands. More »
Yahoo! Video
Yahoo! Video, officially launched in 2006, is a video website offering branded channels, movie trailers and clips, and popular comedy skits. There are several ways to find content on Yahoo! Video: via the search function bar at the top of the website, clicking on the channels/categories ranging from Motherhood Moments to Sports Bloopers, and browsing the list of Most Popular videos at the moment.
Featured Yahoo! Video networks include the Discovery Channel, the White House, PetTube, JibJab, and Rooftop Comedy. You can also utilize Yahoo TV to get the latest reviews, recaps, interviews, and inside information on your favorite TV shows. There’s also quite a lot of video content here of course; anything from the latest news commentary on current events to previews of shows. More »
AOL Video Network
AOL Video, created in 2006, offers professionally branded multimedia content as well as user-generated video. Users can filter videos at AOL by clicking on branded channels (ranging from ABC to PopEater), browsing the Show of the Week, or checking out the staff picks on the front page.
In addition, AOL Video gives users the chance to see updates about their favorite shows, get television listings for their local areas, save shows to watch later, and see what is viral and trending in a variety of subjects, anything from breaking news to sports, finance, lifestyle, and tech. More »