Tech & Biz

YouTube Signs Deals with Major Studios for TV and Movie Content

by Jarrett Martineau | April 16, 2009 at 02:44 pm

497 views | 30 Recommendations | 4 comments

It's official, YouTube is no longer simply the playground for would-be webcam celebrities, the big boys have shown up to the party.

YouTube announced Thursday that it has struck deals with major Hollywood studios and broadcasters — including the BBC, Sony Pictures, CBS, MGM, Lionsgate and others — "to acquire TV and film content" that will soon be shown on the site's redesigned homepage.

In what looks to be a direct play against competitors like Hulu and TV.com, YouTube is planning to show this new premium content via two new tabs: "Shows" and "Subscriptions".

For those of you watching televison on, well, television and movies in, well, theaters — this could well be the way you'll be watching your favourite shows and movies in the future.

On Thursday, the Internet's largest video site announced that it has struck deals with a host of entertainment companies, including Sony Pictures, CBS...Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Lionsgate, Starz, and the BBC, to acquire TV and film content.

YouTube executives also said during a conference call that they have redesign part of its Web site to create separate areas for professionally made content. On the site's front door, will be two new tabs.

"The 'Shows' tab allows you to browse shows by genre, network, title and popularity," YouTube said in a statement. "The 'Subscriptions' tab will grant logged-in users one-click access to fresh content from their favorite creators."

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Nathalie (not verified)

at 17:25 on April 16th, 2009

It's about time!

aurealeus

at 04:38 on April 17th, 2009

There goes the neighborhood.

YouTube has been a great outlet for wannabes as well as a source for alternative news producers and other information that is usually skimmed over by big media.

This just goes to show that corporate media giants are alive and well determined to keep shoveling their mess down our throats while supporting censorship in regards to "community based" media and free speech.

Maybe they can rename it BoobTube.