BBC Does Deal With YouTube
The BBC has joined forces with YouTube to create branded BBC channels on the website, operating under separate BBC and BBC Worldwide agreements.
The partnership will see clips of new BBC shows and specially commissioned promotional content linked to popular series such as Doctor Who and Life On Mars, aired on YouTube.
At launch, the YouTube community will be able 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 and John Simm going back in time for Life On Mars.
YouTube will also feature an entertainment channel called “BBC Worldwide” showing clips from material such as Top Gear, Spooks and a range of factual programmes including those presented by David Attenborough. The channel will include a limited amount of advertising.
There has recently been some debate over whether the BBC’s overseas arm should be allowed to have advertising on its website (see Publishers Call On BBC Trust To Reject Online Ads).
Around 30 news clips per day will be on available on YouTube from BBC World, the BBC’s international commercial television channel, 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.
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.”
Eric Schmidt, CEO and chairman of Google, said: “We’re delighted to be joining forces with the BBC to bring the best TV programming available to the YouTube community.
“We will continue to invest in our platforms and technologies to help our partners make the most of the enormous opportunities presented by the billion people now online.”
In a statement, the BBC said that the aim of the deal is to offer audiences a taste of BBC programming with clips which will (subject to the conclusion of the ongoing PVT process) link them to the BBC’s proposed iPlayer service (see BBC Trust Approves iPlayer Service).
Search engine giant Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion (£884 million) last October (see Google Buys YouTube).
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