So, it is not surprising to see Disney enter into a landmark deal recently. This announcement (via BBC) highlights some of the key details.
--Walt Disney and YouTube have signed a new deal to allow Disney to launch its own channels on the video sharing website. Highlights from Disney's ESPN sports channel and clips from its TV shows will be made available to watch over the next couple of months. A key part of the agreement is that Disney will have the right to put adverts in its output.YouTube is keen to be seen as an outlet for high quality video. In a statement, a Disney spokesperson said the deal offers "the opportunity to reach a broader, online audience as well as extend the reach of our advertisers". YouTube is by far the world's most popular video sharing website. However, it's coming under more pressure from Google to start converting its huge user numbers into cash.
It should not surprise us at all to see more deals..
Posts
This agreement follows on the analysis of Hulu's recent successes: that good content can still win.
ReplyDeletehttp://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10077915-2.html
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/03/23/hulu-gains-10-million-viewers-in-february-now-no-4-video-site-in-us/
This does make a lot of sense in terms of videos. Do you think this will be viable for newspapers as well? The distinction between "good" content and user-generated contents is far smaller, but there is still a big demand for reading high-quality articles. I just wonder what kind of distribution method will make sense in order to keep the incentives (i.e. wages) for creating such high-quality content as well as collecting fees from users, advertisers, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe value this deal has for Youtube is the acknowledgment that it is impossible to succeed without strong relationship with Youtube. This will also open up a new opportunity for short form videos and posses a threat to the incumbent video service providers (cable etc).
ReplyDelete