Breitbart.tv: A New Beginning

In 2007, New Media visionary and this company’s namesake Andrew Breitbart launched Breitbart.tv, one of the first components of what is now Breitbart News.

Back when Breitbart launched the video-centric site, web video was a relatively new concept. It did, however evolve quickly — as the proliferation of broadband speed Internet made watching Flash video online a feasible concept.

Just a year prior to Breitbart.tv’s launch, YouTube showed how online video could play a consequential role in politics, when Democratic Senate candidate Jim Webb volunteer S.R. Sidarth caught then- Sen. George Allen’s (R-VA) so-called “macaca” moment on video. The Webb campaign accused Allen of using a racial insult and the media slammed Allen for his insensitivity. Despite the Allen campaign’s protestations the damage that cycle was irreversible and Webb went on to win the close election to become a U.S. Senator.

Breitbart realized the potential of this medium early. In his 2011 memoir “Righteous Indignation,” he wrote how Breitbart.tv and its predecessor Breitbart.com would be the beginning of the Breitbart empire.

So after I left the Huffington Post and returned to Earth, I was determined to use my knowledge of the news cycle to create a brand—a media entity that could operate on a par with other news outlets, but that would use the New Media to even greater advantage. Breitbart.com and Breitbart.tv did that. People inside and outside the news business know the Breitbart sites: they’ve heard of them; they use and return to them. They learned fast that we had the newswires, and that we had the unique audio and video content.

This was truly visionary on Breitbart’s part. He knew the importance of video on the Internet. Embedded web video already was popping up on a few sites, but no one had yet created a single web site to be a hub for news and political videos. Where it had existed at the time – on sites like the Media Research Center’s Newsbusters, it was in the form of a hyperlinked video file.

Breitbart’s concept for using the power of video and audio would be much different. Your eyes and ears don’t lie.

“If a Republican says something crazy, if a Democrat says something crazy, I’ll put it up and let people decide,” Breitbart told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Rob Owen in March 2007 on the eve of Breitbart.tv’s launch. “There aren’t many sites where you can see both sides duking it out. That would be ideal for me.”

Seven years have passed since then and things are much different. Other sites have successfully mimicked Breitbart’s vision. Breitbart.tv is still chugging along, but now we’re turning the page to a new chapter in the site’s history.

Today we are unveiling a new, faster-loading, user-friendly iteration of Breitbart.tv. We welcome your feedback and are looking forward to continuing to expand — holding the people in power accountable and supplying our readers with the most compelling content out there.

We are excited about the continued success of this site and will be making several announcements in the coming weeks and months of new additions as we strive to be the ultimate go-to site for video content.