YouTube Joins Forces With Channel 4 To Roll Out A New Section Called ‘Shows’

YouTube, the online video sharing site owned by Google, has launched a new section on its site called ‘shows’ which will feature full length videos of popular programmes like Channel 4’s Peep Show and Hollyoaks.  

‘Shows’, which have gone live today following a landmark 3 year deal between YouTube and Channel 4 will include almost 5,000 videos, out of which almost 4,000 are full length programmes, from over 60 partners. Channel 4 will supply full-length videos from series such as ‘Peep Show’, ‘Derren Brown’, ‘Hollyoaks’, ‘The Inbetweeners’, Gordon Ramsay’s F Word along with ‘Jamie at Home’ including ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ and ‘Father Ted’. The full contents of Channel 4’s archive will be available at the beginning of 2010.

It has been reported that the Google owned company has also struck a deal with FreemantleMedia and BBC Worldwide to gain access to certain programmes such as ‘Baywatch’ and ‘This is Dom Joly’.

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Meanwhile, YouTube is currently in negotiations with other major networks in UK like ITV and BBC Worldwide and major production companies to sign up deals similar to that with Channel 4.

YouTube, which was acquired by Google for $1.65 billion (£883 million) in 2006, has recorded the maximum number of viewers for the month of October than any other viewer with 6,632,964,000 streams and 105,923,000 viewers according to a study done by media research firm Nielson.