London Regional ICT Champion

I’ve just been posting about video-blogging, and as if by magic the BBC has confirmed a deal with YouTube to make programming available via 3 BBC branded channels, including supplying an ad-funded BBC News clips service.

You can read Beth Kanter’s take on it and also check out the YouTube Educational Group.

According to the Beeb, it breaks down like this:

BBC – ad free channel popularising current programming

BBC Worldwide – ad free channel featuring self-contained clips – about three to six minutes long – mining popular programmes in the BBC’s archive.

BBC News – ad funded channel showing about 30 news clips per day. Because of the advertising, these clips can be seen outside the UK only (where the BBC is still ad free).

Interestingly, there was an ultimately unsuccessful campaign by BBC staff and MPs to fight off the dilution of ‘BBC values’ and move to a model of web advertising.

Unlike other broadcasters, the Beeb also seems to be viewing copyright infringement on Youtube as a promotional opportunity:

Mr Highfield said the BBC would not be hunting down all BBC-copyrighted clips already uploaded by YouTube members – although it would reserve the right to swap poor quality clips with the real thing, or to have content removed that infringed other people’s copyright, like sport, or that had been edited or altered in a way that would damage the BBC’s brand.

“We don’t want to be overzealous, a lot of the material on YouTube is good promotional content for us,” he said.