Univision Strikes Deal with YouTube
Spanish-Language Media Leader Will Keep Majority Of Ad Revenue
Laura Martinez -- Multichannel News, 11/18/2009 11:22:37 AM
Starting next year, visitors to YouTube will be able to find authorized content, in both short and long form, from Univision Communications Inc.Through a nonexclusive deal announced this week, a YouTube channel that will go up early next year will include programs from Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision. Content hailing from programming supplier and partner Grupo Televisa is not included, as Univision does not have the right to stream that content online.
Financials were not disclosed, but YouTube and Univision will share revenue generated through advertising, with Univision keeping the majority of such revenue, according to Kevin Conroy, president of Univision Interactive Media. "This deal will broaden our reach and the relevancy of our programming beyond Univision.com, create incremental sellable video inventory, and Univision keeps the majority of the advertising revenue," Conroy wrote in response to a series of email questions from Hispanic TV Update.
He added: "As the leader in serving Hispanics [...] we see it as our responsibility to spearhead efforts to make great content available to a broader audience so that it can be consumed more widely." Univision's content on YouTube, though, will only be available to U.S. consumers.
YouTube's Hispanic audiences have grown steadily. According to a blog posting by Laura Lee, strategic partner development manager at YouTube, the portal's Hispanic audience has grown 80% in the past year. Lee also wrote that the Univision partnership is also "one of the most comprehensive partnerships for full-length content to date." It is estimated that YouTube attracts 6.5 million Latinos each month.
