YouTube Wins Right To Host Time Warner TV Shows and Movie Clips
By Anna Johnson on August 25th, 2009Don’t rule YouTube out of being a prime-time media player just yet. It’s just secured the rights to host short-form television and movie clips from Time Warner, including movies and series from Warner Bros, CNN and the Cartoon Network.
Similar to YouTube’s arrangement with Disney/ABC, the Time Warner deal will see YouTube integrate Time Warner’s video player and allow Time Warner owned Turner and Warner Bros. to establish YouTube channels for their own brands and sell their own ads.
Okay, so YouTube won’t exactly be hosting Time Warner’s premium content, but as reported by ClickZ, YouTube says we shouldn’t be fixated on the absence of long-form content.
In fact, the statement by YouTube’s Chris Dale pretty much flags YouTube’s strategy for working with the major media:
“The focus in the media right now is largely on long-form content. What we’ve steadily been doing over the last year and a half is finding these deals with premium partners…that is bringing more monetizable content to YouTube.”
YouTube believes it can monetize short-form content from the TV networks… but surely YouTube’s strategy is to prove the model works for short-form content… and then get the networks to agree to apply the model to their higher quality, long-form content…
Source: Zachary Rodgers, “YouTube Strikes Premium Video Pact with Time Warner,” ClickZ, August 19, 2009
