YouTube, the popular online video sharing platform, will soon begin streaming full-length television shows and films, an indication the Google subsidiary is threatened by the new kid on the block, Hulu, a joint venture of NBC Studios and News Corp, which has offered full-length shows and films since its launch earlier this year.

While YouTube is by far the world’s most popular online video community, garnering 81 million unique visitors in September according to Nielson, Google’s investors have voiced concerns over its meager advertising revenue since the company was purchased in 2006. In an effort to increase revenue (by poaching Hulu’s viewership), YouTube will announce an agreement on Monday with MGM, Lions Gate, and CBS to post a not-so compelling line up, including the decade old “American Gladiators,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” and “Star Trek,” as well as movies like “Bulletproof Monk” and “Legally Blonde.”

Advertising consultants suggest the site’s failure to produce meaningful revenue is the same reason for the site’s success: Original, user-produced content.  Potential advertisers, it seems, are far more comfortable with full-length shows instead of laughing babies or overly dramatic prairie dogs – a preference which has presumably given Hulu the upper hand. If YouTube was truly interested in regaining their market share, they would follow Hulu’s business model, one which doesn’t include posting dated sitcoms.