BBC Taps YouTube
British Broadcaster to Create Three Channels on Google’s Internet-Video Site
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 3/2/2007 11:49:00 AM
The British Broadcasting Corp. will create three branded channels on Google's YouTube, another major media partnership that underscores the video-sharing site's attempts to build legitimate distribution partnerships.
"YouTube is a key gateway through which to engage new audiences in the U.K. and abroad," BBC director general Mark Thompson said in a prepared statement.
Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. However, the companies said the deal was nonexclusive, and BBC said it will generate "new revenues" from ads sold on its BBC News and BBC Worldwide channels on YouTube.
YouTube has similar deals with CBS, NBC and the National Basketball Association.
The BBC deal comes a few weeks after Viacom failed to reach an agreement with YouTube. Viacom subsequently demanded that the site pull down more than 100,000 clips of its content, and the media giant later announced a distribution deal with peer-to-peer Internet-TV startup Joost.
The BBC's primary entertainment-oriented channel will include clips of new shows and other promotional content tied to series such as Doctor Who and Life on Mars. A BBC Worldwide channel, which will have "a limited amount of advertising," will include clips from shows including Top Gear, Spooks, The Catherine Tate Show and documentaries including those presented by David Attenborough.
BBC World, the BBC's international commercial-television channel, will provide a news channel with about 30 news clips per day. The advertising-funded clips will be available only to users outside of the United Kingdom.
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