14 DAY TRIAL // Some days ago, rumors about a possible YouTube, BBC deal were quickly spreading on the Internet although the two companies refused to comment on them. Today, BBC confirmed the partnership and announced a content deal that will allow the company to use the videos published on YouTube. The agreement will also create 3 YouTube channels: one for the latest news and two others for the entertainment area.
BBC will represent one of the two products displaying entertainment content without any adverts and available as a public service. "It will show clips like trailers and short features that add value - for example, video diaries of David Tennant showing viewers around the set of Dr Who or BBC correspondent Clive Myrie explaining how difficult it is to report from the streets of Baghdad," BBC said. The company aims to promote its news and attract more traffic to the website by redirecting users to BBC.com.
BBC Worldwide will be the second entertainment service that will display advertising banners but will have a big advantage compared to the other channel: it will provide access to video clips with the length between 3 and 6 minutes containing interesting parts from Top Gear, The Mighty Boosh and nature programs presented by David Attenborough.
BBC News will represent the news channel that will be launched later this year and will display about 30 clips per day. This product will be available only for the Internet users located in every corner in the world except UK, whose residents will receive a restriction message.
"The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, called the deal a "ground-breaking partnership" that would "engage new audiences in the UK and abroad". The BBC's director of Future Media and Technology, Ashley Highfield, said the deal was "not about distributing content like full-length programmes; YouTube is a promotional vehicle for us" BBC reported.