WebProNews

The Associated Press has introduced a new local video feature for affiliate news sites to upload locally produced video and monetize the content through local online advertising.

AP affiliates will be able to control a "Local" tab within their player and add their own local video. The service hopes to attract local advertisers and receive a portion of the ad dollars that have moved from traditional media to online. The AP says that affiliates have seen an increase in traffic by featuring local video content such as high school sports coverage, local events, breaking state news, and celebrity interviews.

"The local video option is a critical part of how OVN affiliates can showcase video on their Web sites," said Bill Burke, AP's Director of Online Video.

"We've seen some early adopters dramatically increase stream counts by using this capability, which allows affiliates to keep all their video in one place, and which lets them sell local advertising against it."

The AP's Online Video Network serves more than 1,900 newspaper, television and radio sites across the U.S. and is powered by Microsoft technology.