14 DAY TRIAL // YouTube is now preparing to display some hot action from Iraq after the product managed to sign a deal with Al Jazeera, the well-known television channel based in Qatar. At this time, Google's video service displays almost any type of content, except news and headlines coming straight from Iraq. YouTube and Al Jazeera English will display the most important parts from Frost over the World, Everywoman, Inside Iraq, Inside Story, Listening Post, Riz Khan, One-on-One and The Fabulous Picture Show, the two companies planning to upload 10-15 clips every week. According to Digital Spy, the deal will create a new YouTube channel similar to the ones built for other partnerships such as NBA, Chelsea FC or BBC.
"We believe that YouTube is a perfect platform to reach out to our audience and to give wide and easy access to new viewers around the world. We have significantly built on our distribution since launch and now reach well in access of 90 million cable and satellite households worldwide. With YouTube's community of millions of online users this is set to dramatically increase," said Al Jazeera English managing director Nigel Parsons, according to the same publication.
This is quite an original deal signed by YouTube because until now, the online video sharing service was mostly based on entertainment content and sometimes, on some special cases able to help members publish their stories. As you know, YouTube really likes the homemade content and is continuously struggling to convince members to upload all their clips because the user-generated clips are attracting the majority of viewers. Take the example of the 2007 YouTube User Awards, an especially created event built to honor the most viewed clips uploaded by ordinary users.