C-SPAN Launches Free Searchable Online Video Library

Contains every show aired on channel since 1987

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/17/2010 9:59:19 AM

C-SPAN is putting the "public" in public affairs, big time.

The channel said March 17 it has launched a free, searchable online video library of every show it has aired since 1987 and about 10,000 hours of pre-1987 material (C-SPAN was created in 1979).  The channel is currently culling and digitizing that early programming.

That amounts to over 160,000 hours of video, which can be clipped and shared. "We hope it will quickly become a resource for the serious researcher as well as the casual observer - and those wishing to share political moments and events in their social online communities," said C-SPAN Co-President Susan Swain.

The videos are available for public consumption. Bloggers and news organizations can use clips to illustrate stories, but cannot imbed the shows in full on their own sites, though they can link to C-SPAN's full episodes.