by Playfuls Staff |
3rd March 2007
BBC and YouTube 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 [more] 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.
