YouTube has beaten Hulu to the punch after Disney announced it will work with the world's most popular video sharing site by offering content from ESPN, Disney, ABC and SoapNet on ad-supported YouTube channels in April and May later this year.
Specifically, the ESPN YouTube channel will be available sometime later this month, whilee ABC Entertainment, ABC Family, ABC News and SoapNet channels will roll out next month.
"This deal provides us with the opportunity to reach a broader online audience, to experiment with different monetization models and to extend the reach of our advertisers," Disney/ABC Television Group president Anne Sweeney said in a statement.
.jpg)
ABC is looking to try and broaden its audience of online video viewers, and will still hope to draw them back to the ABC.com web site.
The Disney content on YouTube will not be full-length programs, but is an important stepping stone for both companies as Disney tries to figure out how to deal with the online video market. Disney will have the opportunity to sell graphic and text ads in conjunction with its recent larger marketing pushes.
Hulu, in an effort to offer as much content as possible, is still in negotiations with Disney. Hopefully the deal will involve full-length movies and TV episodes. A collaboration between Disney and Hulu is expected to be completed sometime this spring, if all goes according to plan.
