The fare will be free for viewers, accompanied by ads. Initial titles from MGM include episodes of the American Gladiators TV series, full-length films such as Bulletproof Monk and The Magnificent Seven, and clips from movies like Legally Blonde.

Rolling Out Content Slowly

MGM copresident Jim Packer said the studio will roll out new content slowly, with no more than 30 to 40 movies on YouTube at once.

YouTube, owned by Google, has a huge viewership -- more than 80 million visitors in September alone. And it has become part of the culture, in that clips of the most outrageous and memorable moments from television's hundreds of channels almost instantly show up on the site. It's also famous for countless clips of odd pet tricks, homemade diatribes, and everything in between.

But the site has also gotten into hot water because users post legally protected material without permission. Viacom, for instance, is suing YouTube because of copyright infringement. YouTube has implemented a VideoID system that now enables media companies to determine if there are unauthorized uses of their protected materials on the site, and, if so, studios can either remove the clips or attach ads to them.

Because of illegal use of their protected material, and because of the general free-for-all in terms of the quality of video clips, many studios have not looked at YouTube as a reliable venue for their properties.

'Brick by Brick'

Meanwhile, Hulu.com, a joint venture of NBC and Fox, among other sites, has begun to attract viewers, and is illustrating how TV and movies can have a lively afterlife online in a focused venue.

YouTube has been trying to catch up, notably with recent deals with CBS -- which is now posting full-length episodes of Star Trek, MacGyver and Beverly Hills 90210 -- as well as an arrangement with Lionsgate. There are also reports that the site is in negotiations with Sony and Time Warner.

YouTube is also offering a "theater view," with an enlarged viewing screen and the rest of the page darkened, comparable to what Hulu offers.

The studio deals are a clear sign that YouTube is "moving toward long-form content," said Bobby Tulsiani, an analyst with industry research firm Forrester Research. The content owners are moving from suing the huge online video site to cooperating with it, he said.

"Brick by brick," Tulsiani explained, "YouTube is building a venue for long-form content." But the evolution of TV shows and movies for free on Web sites has just begun, with the studios first trying out their back library. "Even on Hulu," he noted, "you're not seeing the Spider-Man movies yet."