YouTube has managed to add another big name to its line-up of partners for its new channels full of original content. But this one isn’t doing it for the money or the opportunity, but in the hopes it’ll help its own online offering.
Original YouTube Channels
At the end of last month Google unveiled its plans for original programming to land on YouTube in a big way. Initially there will be 100 channels headed up by the likes of Madonna, Jay-Z, Tony Hawk, and The Young Turks, with many more to follow.
Each channel will be assigned a budget to be spent on creating content. This will then be clawed back through advertising revenues. Or at least that’s the hope. YouTube stands more chance of doing that when it gets really big names to come on board. And there are few bigger than Disney.
Disney Joins Up
YouTube and Disney released a joint statement today detailing the deal which sees them teaming up. Between them the two companies will contribute up to $15 million to pay for the creation of original content. The hope is to have eight original shows airing at any one time.
The content will appear on both YouTube, on its new dedicated Disney channel, and Disney.com from early 2012. Disney.com will then be completely overhauled later on in 2012, with the new content playing a big part in the new-look website.
Conclusions
This is a mutually-beneficial deal if ever I saw it. YouTube gets a big name to add to its channel line-up, which will help lure children to the site. Children who may have been scared off after the Sesame Street porn hacking. And Disney gets a high-profile partner that will eventually send viewers to its own site. The viewers, meanwhile, get all-new content with that all-important Disney quality attached.
[Via The Wall Street Journal]
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