Building on YouTube's reputation for having what you want to watch when you want to watch it, the online video giant has entered into an agreement with CBS to show full-length (that'd be 50 minutes) episodes of the original Star Trek.  The deal also includes episodes of MacGyver, The Young and the Restless, and Beverly Hills 90210.  The episodes are bundled with advertising blocks before, after and during the broadcasts.  Episode list can be found at the CBS Channel.

The success of Hulu.com in providing legal online videos has no doubt helped inspire the move.  Time-shifting is a long-held tradition for soap opera fans and genre fans alike, and the availability of legal online viewing makes it much easier to schedule one's shows around one's life rather than the other way around.  Putting content online also allows the people who make ratings-based decisions to realize how big their audience is, even if the Nielsen families aren't watching.

(Source: TechTree)