Disney and You Tube get together; will split ad revenue
Disney and YouTube are getting together in a deal expected to be announced today. Disney Interactive Media and the Google-owned video site will create a Disney channel containing original content , according to the New York Times.
Magic kingdom: A big deal for You Tube
Disney will sell advertising for the content and split the revenue with YouTube. Disney will also choose some of its television library and handpick original content uploaded to YouTube to feature on its channel.
Google and Disney will together spend $10 million to $15 million on the venture, says the Times. They will produce original video series, which will then be available on both YouTube and Disney.com.
The deal with Disney is a big step for YouTube, which has upset major Hollywood content providers because of users uploading copyrighted content to the site.
Disney, which also owns ABC, ESPN and several other content providers," has struggled to find a fan base on the Web while continuing to find success with movies and on television with The Disney Channel," says the Times.
Bloomberg News reports that Disney Interactive has reported operating losses of $318 million in the past four quarters. Another quarterly earnings report is due this week.
James Pitaro, co-president of Disney Interactive, told the Times that the companies want to have eight Web series in production at any time; the first one will be based on Disney's popular "Where's my Water" app.