Blogs are easy to set up. Podcasts? A little trickier, but not beyond the reach of many users. What about your own broadcast channel, though, using broadband to send video and audio to viewers around the globe? It's easier than you'd think - and is set to become the next user-generated content phenomenon.

The BBC reports on how "niche TV" is growing quickly online. A decade or so ago, when cable and satellite brought multiple channels to many homes, an explosion of niche programming was predicted. It didn't happen. There were, of course, unintentionally hilarious home-made shows put together for various public service channels, plus a number of late-night shows languishing at the bottom of the viewing figures charts - once, a British newspaper declared that some niche channels registered figures so low that they showed up as zero percent on the ratings: In other words, there were times when nobody was watching them.

Back then, however, it was still relatively tricky to make a show. You needed a decent camera, for a start, and access to editing facilities. In 2006, video cameras are cheap - you might even have one perched on your PC, peering at you as you read this. Decent home computers, like Apple's iMac, have video editing software built in, allowing users to create relatively sophisticated films.

The most difficult part of becoming a broadcaster, though, was getting on the airwaves. Governments and big broadcasters controlled what could be broadcast and what couldn't - and producers depended on viewers having cable, being awake or tuned in when the show was broadcast, even if they could persuade a broadcaster to air their shows.

Broadband has changed this. It's quick, cheap and easy to upload video onto a website (though you may need to fork out more for hosting charges if you upload lots of files).

Thanks to innovations like Tivo, viewers expect to be able to able to watch broadcasts on demand, so you don't need to rely on late-night viewers. Google helps potential audiences find your site - no more relying on viewers to browse through the late-night cable section of the TV Guide to alight on an interesting show. Additionally, the format of the internet means that you need not provide 24/7 coverage - video content is important if you want to pose as a broadcaster, but a selection of blogs and text reports can support video and audio content.

If you want to do more than that - to create a fully fledged broadband channel - you need to invest a little more. The Beeb spoke to Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) production companies, who encode shows for small broadcasters for use on broadband. Narrowstep, a company offering editing, technical support, hosting, feeds, scheduling and advertisng support for web broadcasters was also interviewed: Narrowstep powers over 80 channels.

It's still an expensive business, though. The founders of Countrychannel and Cycling TV admit that to six figure running costs every year, despite the fact that live sports feeds of cycle races are often free to use. Cycling TV's boss, though, says that he expects to make his first profit this year.

Expensive to create they may be, and of course they lack the gloss and high production values of big broadcasters. However, much of the internet's success lies in its appeal to smaller, niche markets who can't be served by big broadcasters. It's The Long Tail theory in action, where the demand for small, niche products might culmatively outweigh the demand for the most popular content.

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