BBC Signs Content Deal With YouTube - WSJ.com

Interesting development ... YouTube may at last start to have some quality content - I mean, there's only so many times you can watch a cat falling over, or a teeenager running into a fence. If YouTube hearlded a brand new world of creativity/media, then I am a banana ...

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LONDON -- British Broadcasting Corp. said Friday it has signed a deal with YouTube, a unit of Google Inc., which will make clips of its programs available on the video-sharing Web site.

The publicly funded United Kingdom broadcaster said it will offer branded "channels" on YouTube, some of which will be funded by advertising.

The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, said YouTube was "a key gateway through which to engage new audiences in the U.K. and abroad."

The deal will create a channel called "BBC Worldwide" on YouTube which will show hit shows, including Top Gear, Spooks and nature documentaries presented by David Attenborough.

It also will create a channel to be called "BBC World," that will show news clips from the BBC's commercially operated international news channel. The corporation will make available clips from some current popular series such as Doctor Who and Life On Mars.

The BBC said in a statement that the partnership "reflects YouTube's commitment to work with content owners to make compelling video accessible online, and the BBC's commitment to increase reach through the partnership."

Some large media and entertainment companies have objected to YouTube's use of their material on an unauthorized basis. YouTube's Web site features video clips, both made by private individuals and from corporations. Viacom Inc. recently forced the company to take down more than 100,000 video clips from the YouTube site.

The plan is likely to be controversial in the U.K., where the BBC has been criticized by rivals for extending its footprint too far into commercial territory. The deal comes as the BBC Trust, the corporation's new governance body, considers whether to allow the corporation to advertise on its international Web sites. The BBC is funded through a universal license fee in the U.K. and advertising isn't permitted on its domestic broadcast platforms or Web site.


BBC Signs Content Deal With YouTube - WSJ.com