YouTube Gains Support from the BBC

[Jimmy 2004]

YouTube, the video sharing service now owned by Google, has often come under pressure from broadcasting companies about their material being shown without permission on the site after users upload it illegally. However, the BBC (a major TV and radio broadcaster in the UK) has reached an agreement which should see three channels being shown on YouTube, with each showcasing short clips of the BBC's content. One of these channels will be used for news, whilst the other two will host entertainment. The BBC's director general, Mark Thompson, called the deal a "ground-breaking partnership" that would "engage new audiences in the UK and abroad", but the deal has been criticised by other media companies which claim the BBC is straying from its licence-fee funded public service.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Completely Bonkers]

Lucky for YouTube. Having a working agreement with a broadcaster sets a good precedent. It means the survival probability of YouTube has just increased significantly... PLUS is sets a competitive platform for other broadcasters... to use YouTube as the distribution system for advertising their content. (And allowing achieve material available to the public).

Kind of interesting, since the BBC is publically funded... I would think that there could be a legal case that the British public have a RIGHT to the BBC content seeing as they PAID for it already. Hmmm... This could get interesting.

 

[Scavar]

That should be interesting to see. At least YouTube I guess will last longer now. Its going to be more difficult for users to upload their own videos and stuff now though I bet.

 

[WarEagleAU]

Is this a good thing?