Channel 4 has announced that they have signed an undisclosed deal with YouTube to allow a huge range of their programmes to be broadcast for free on the site. Becoming the first broadcaster in the world to make such a deal they revealed that shows such as ‘Skins’ and ‘The Inbetweeners’ would make up some 3,000hrs of content due to be uploaded.
In addition advertising will be sold around the shows, with the channel estimated to take a 70per cent cut of the profits, whilst they can also sell advertising slots on video’s that they have not uploaded themselves. Running for a pilot of three years, the two companies said that the YouTube/Channel 4 collaboration would look very much like the channels online website, with added YouTube branding.
With most content being online by 2010, YouTube’s owner Google said “Over the past few years, fans have had access to increasing amounts of professional programming online as TV companies experiment with new ways of distributing their content.” Global Sales Operations and Business Development president Nikesh Arora added that “Channel 4 have been visionary in their online strategy and are consistently at the forefront of new uses of YouTube to engage their viewers and unlock new revenue streams. This significant new agreement brings Channel 4’s great full length content to the YouTube community, helping Channel 4 to grow their online revenues and to continue to invest in the creation of high quality original content.”
Meanwhile chief executive of Channel 4, Andy Duncan said “Channel 4 was the first broadcaster anywhere in the world to make all its commissioned content available online and we’ve consistently pioneered in this field. It demonstrates our ability to strike dynamic commercial partnerships to help underpin our future as a commercially funded, not-for-profit multi-platform public service network.”
