GrindTV ...

Mark Walsh from Media On-line Daily reported earlier this month:

Yahoo Sports Adds Content From GrindTV
Wednesday, Apr 9, 2008 7:00 AM ET

YAHOO SPORTS IS PUMPING UP its programming with content from GrindTV, a video site featuring "action sports" including skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding and motocross. The new co-branded GrindTV channel will add 1 million extra viewers to the section, according to Yahoo.
The channel will feature video from action sports filmmakers and brands, as well as original footage from GrindTV Productions. Editorial content will include special features, event information and expert blog posts.

Yahoo is counting on the new action sports offering to draw advertisers seeking to appeal to the young, active demographic that defines the category's audience. Yahoo Sports features channels devoted to traditional sports such as basketball, football and baseball, but has added more exotic categories including mixed martial arts and Australian rules football.

Yahoo Sports had traffic of 19.2 million in February 2008, up from 13.1 million in the year-earlier period. Yahoo Sports advertisers include Toyota, KFC and UPS.

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So, what exactly is Grind TV?

It's a site dedicated to fans of "Skate, Surf, Snow, Dirt, Biking, Music, Girls" and all the other stuff young kids love.

To me, it shows how the Internet can change and adapt quickly, adding content to draw viewers while the newspaper industry stands around and wonders why their readership continues to drop.

Yahoo Sports quickly drew a few million users to their portal with a strategic move to add a new element to their site, something that a portion of the population wants to see. The beauty of possessing endless amounts of physical space and opportunity, once again, serves the Internet while the newspaper is stuck with higher costs, early deadlines and space limitations.

Can newspapers adapt, add content and upgrade their web sites to the point where they can compete?

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Boston TV strikes me as a perfect combination for Boston.com - the site operated by The Boston Globe. Boston TV and CineSport could be a partial answer to declining readership and a way to attract young readers to the Internet sites and, possibly, the paper as they grow older.