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Online Journalism News

BBC does deal with YouTube

Posted: 02/03/07 By: Oliver Luft
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The BBC and YouTube have forged a partnership to create branded BBC channels on the video-sharing site.

BBC World will supply around 30 news clips per day to the site - with advertising-funded clips being made available to users outside the UK.

The BBC will supply clips of new shows and specially commissioned promotional content linked to popular TV series and an entertainment channel called BBC Worldwide will show clips from other popular BBC shows.

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.

The agreement has YouTube operating under separate agreements with BBC and BBC Worldwide.

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."

Chad Hurley, CEO and co-founder of YouTube, said: "We're constantly looking for innovative ways to bring the best content to our community.

"The BBC is a premier source for quality programming, and we're excited that they are leading the way in enabling two-way dialogue and real engagement with an entirely new audience. We hope to open up an entirely new audience for their content, while deepening their relationship with their existing viewers."