In a not so covert way, Yahoo wants in on the hype that is surrounding the purchase of YouTube by Google. Recently, the company announced that they are planning on holding a video talent show search that will reward the winner with a not so paltry $50,000 an episode contract. The eight week contest begins November 13th and contestants can upload videos that will be voted on by both the public and a highly qualified (snicker) group of judges.

The slogan of the contest, “Save the Web from Bad Videos”, might not relate to all of the content that is currently on display at YouTube, but definitely takes a potshot at the mostly amateurish videos on the leading purveyor of online clips.

This contest does try and break the mold set by YouTube, which never offers money to users, but has sparked careers for some (LonelyGirl15 ring a bell to anyone?) The move by Yahoo to create a commercial, episodic series may be bold, but does not seem as far fetched as it once did. With episodes of Lost and other popular shows available for free on ABC.com, the move of commercial videos to the internet has become an inevitable reality, and although it is yet to be determined if Yahoo’s gamble will pay off, they have at least been bold enough to realize (and say) that there is a lot of crap on YouTube.

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