NBC Pulls The Plug On Its YouTube Channel [Updated]
[Update: A YouTube representative has confirmed that NBC pulled down its channel and all accompanying content. See details below]
NBC has been canceling and pulling out of all sorts of partnerships lately and it appears that YouTube may be the latest to fall out of favor. Although neither company has made any announcement, YouTube’s partner page no longer lists NBC and a visit to the NBC channel displays the message “this channel is not available.”
While it’s possible this is just a technical glitch, it’s been that way for almost 24 hours, leading industry gossip site Valleywag to speculate that the deal between the two has fallen apart. NBC previously backed out of its iTunes deal citing pricing and a lack of bundling options in the Apple partnership.
NBC was an early feather in the cap of YouTube and many credit the partnership forged in June 2006 with legitimizing YouTube and helping make possible the sale to Google. Since then NBC’s YouTube channel has been one of the more popular offerings on the site, showing videos from shows like The Office and Saturday Night Live.
But with the upcoming launch of Hulu, a joint venture that sees NBC joining News Corp, perhaps NBC has decided to back out of its YouTube deal. Despite the fact that most pundits are already predicting Hulu’s failure — exactly how you simultaneously maintain exclusive content and yet widely distributed said content is a bit of a mystery — the site is said to be launching before the end of the month.
I’ve contacted both NBC and YouTube asking for an official response, but so far neither companies have responded. We’ll be sure to keep you updated.
[Update: A YouTube spokesperson tells Wired News “NBC informed us on Friday that they were taking down their branded channel and clips. Our relationship with NBC was a YouTube success story, so we hope NBC decides to post more original content and stay engaged with our users.”]
See Also:
