YouTube and Time Warner have just signed an agreement under which the former would host clips of popular Time Warner TV shows. The latest deal is part of an ongoing effort to fetch professional content to the popular video-sharing website.
The agreement will involve placement of short clips from Cartoon Network, CNN, and Adult Swim, TNT’s super hit dramas and Warner Brothers TV productions such as ‘‘The Ellen De- Generes Show’ and ‘‘Gossip Girl’ on YouTube.
Of course, this is not really the first agreement between Google owned YouTube and TimeWarner. It will let Time Warner sell ads against its YouTube clips.
Director of partnerships at the video-sharing website, Jordan Hoffner, was quoted as saying: ‘‘Time Warner’s portfolio lends itself nicely to short-form clips. The key thing is to get them on the platform.’’
Time Warner’s chief executive Jeffrey L. Bewkes said in a news release, ‘‘We expect to improve our ability of monetizing this short-form content by working with YouTube through new and creative advertising initiatives.’’
Promotional clips for HBO shows have been available since early 2008 on YouTube. The website has been striving to add professionally produced content that is a more appealing proposition to advertisers than clips made by amateurs. Google’s chief executive Eric E. Schmidt recently stated that YouTube’s revenue was quickly growing.
YouTube inked a similar agreement with Walt Disney’s ABC unit in March. However, ABC struck a deal a month later for displaying full-length YV shows and movies with Hulu, YouTube’s immediate rival. It was widely perceived as a more valuable one than the earlier agreement with YouTube.
