Editor's Note: This article is the first in a series of interviews called "Five Questions For." Every Thursday, Publish.com will interview a designer, developer, pundit or personality in online media. So check back often, or get notified via our RSS feed.

Back in November 2005, only a few weeks after Apple announced video support through iTunes and started a veritable online video land grab, Comedy Central announced Motherload.

When it launched, the service offered 450 video clips of existing shows and original online content.

Earlier this week, the channel announced eight additional Motherload shows.

The new Web-only shows are a promising sign that big media companies increasingly see the Internet as a viable way not only to promote their on-air shows but also to launch shorter programs that are either not ready or not suited for television.

Publish.com talked with Lou Wallach, senior vice president of original programming and development, about Comedy Central's experience with online video publishing so far.

Obviously, Internet video is a hot space right now. We all saw that at [the International Computer Electronics Show], if not before.

Yeah, we're looking at Motherload as a second Comedy Central. You can come in and pitch me a 22-minute show or a 2- to 3-minute show, and I've got a place for it. It's the best of both worlds. You'll see at least one or two new shows in the coming months. We're looking beyond the boundaries of television. I've got shows here that could end up on wireless cell phones, on iTunes, you name it.

So what have you learned since Motherload's launch in November of last year?

I don't have any of the numbers right here in front of me, but we've only increased. Traffic, viewers, downloads. And we expect continued success as we continue to cross-promote our talent between all these different platforms.

Speaking of cross-promotion, obviously one of the big questions on every network's mind is, will online video help our brand or cannibalize our profits?

We're very well-connected to our audience, and we know what they want. Our users, our audience is young guys. They're tech savvy, affluent. And they like all these options for getting shows. All we've seen so far is that video online is only helping our brand. And maybe, you know, one of these content avenues will work better for one show or another, and we're open to exploring that.

So Motherload is kind of an experiment, an incubator of sorts?

Yes, well, to address that directly, the primary goal of Motherload is to offer online video content. It would be tremendously short-sighted not to say that if something worked online, maybe it would work on the channel.

Have you come any further along with your plans to offer user-generated content?

We've been talking about a couple of concepts. I don't have anything definite that I can say, no titles or anything. User-generated content is all about connection, it's about community. It's the audience connecting with us and us with the audience. A good idea can come from anywhere. Look at "South Park," where two guys just made a video. Look at the "Family Guy." You'd be short-sighted not to see the possibilities.

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