BBC goes YouTube
BBC and YouTube has entered in a partnership to offer to Internet users BBC content through YouTube. According to the press release, YouTube will create branded BBC “Channels” on YouTube. BBC and YouTube will offer from the BBC clips of new shows and specially commissioned promotional content linked to popular series such as Doctor Who and Life on Mars.
At launch, the YouTube community will be the first to enjoy a range of specially-created video… diaries including David Tennant and Freema Agyeman, who’ll take viewers around the set of Doctor Who; John Simm going back in time for Life on Mars; and Clive Myrie on the streets of the red zone of Baghdad
Also another channel will be an entertainment Channel called “BBC Worldwide” showing clips from material such as Top Gear, Spooks, The Catherine Tate Show, The Mighty Boosh and a range of factual programmes including those presented by David Attenborough. The Channel will include a limited amount of advertising.
BBC World wil offer on a channel with the same name around 30 news clips per day, with up-to-the-minute news and analysis from around the world. The advertising-funded clips will be available to users outside the UK only.
Users will be able to comment on clips, rate them, recommend them to friends and post their own video responses to communicate with the BBC and other viewers.
Mark Thompson, Director-General of the BBC, said: “This ground-breaking partnership between the BBC and YouTube is fantastic news for our audiences. YouTube is a key gateway through which to engage new audiences in the UK and abroad. “The partnership provides both a creative outlet for a range of short-form content from BBC programme makers, and the opportunity to learn about new forms of audience behaviour. It’s essential that the BBC embraces new ways of reaching wider audiences with non-exclusive partnerships such as these.”
The partnership reflects YouTube’s commitment to work with content owners to make compelling video accessible online.
Since acquiring YouTube for $1.65bn in October, Google and Eric Schmidt, its CEO, have made important efforts to forge relationships with traditional media companies.
Few days back YouTube joined hands with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and has started an “NBA Channel” Web site that encourage fans to post online videos of their best real-world basketball moves.
In February, YouTube has signed a deal with Digital Music Group Inc. to offer such 1960s U.S. television programs as “I Spy” and “My Favourite Martian.” Digital Music said the deal also includes an agreement to allow certain music, for which it controls the rights, to be used in users’ videos uploaded to YouTube. Digital Music owns publishing or distribution rights to over 40,000 music recordings and over 4,000 hours of video content including television shows and films. The two-year-old company has online partnerships with Apple Inc.’s. iTunes Music Store, Napster Inc. and Wal-Mart.
YouTube has also signed deals with music companies including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony BMG Music Entertainment that will allow consumers to use some of their music in the creation of videos.
But also in February, Viacom, the owner of MTV, has forced YouTube to remove 100,000 video clips saying they had been placed on the site without its approval. The move comes after the two companies were unable to negotiate a distribution deal, such the ones as YouTube has signed with the CBS and NBC television networks.
Viacom, parent of MTV and Comedy Central, demanded YouTube remove the clips, saying the videos generated about 1.2 billion video streams on YouTube. Viacom received no money for its content, which also includes Nickelodeon and Black Entertainment Television.