Web advertising and media companies say that they have money to invest in original web video programming, but the problem has been building a loyal audience that will make this investment pay off. Sites like Hulu, CollegeHumor, Blip.tv and Cracked.com are all trying to draw recurring viewership by enticing users to tune in at a certain day of the week, and running TV-like promos for web shows or cross-promoting series against similar content.

Fullscreen Inc. has begun promoting web shows by tapping people with large followings on social media sites like YouTube and Twitter, and using them as a mouthpiece. They also introduce video creators to established YouTube stars, hoping this will get them further publicity by acting in or helping to make a show. Video creators are now building their own distribution channels through social media rather than relying on traffic from sources like Google search and online advertising.