Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Monday, October 22, 2007 at 12:34 PM PT

 

NBC Confirms Pulling YouTube Content for Hulu

A representative from NBC Universal called us today and let us know that the network did indeed remove its channel from YouTube over the weekend in preparation for the launch of its own online video portal, Hulu. The spokesperson also de-emphasized the YouTube channel, calling it “promotional.”

NBC (GE) agreed at the formation of its joint venture with News Corp. (NWS) that Hulu would be the exclusive online provider of both companies’ content. Hulu will then syndicate the material to other sites, including AOL (TWX), MSN (MSFT), MySpace, and Yahoo (YHOO) — but not (at least not yet) YouTube.

Hulu, which has $100 million in funding from Providence Equity Partners, is supposed to launch in private beta by the end of October, a deadline the NBC representative said the network expected would be met.

NBC has been hot-tempered in its dealings with video distribution companies. A spat between the network and Apple (AAPL) over renegotiating the pricing of their iTunes contract became very public at the end of August. NBC then made an ally out of Amazon, publicizing its content’s availability on Unbox.

Update: YouTube spokesperson Ricardo Reyes said in an emailed statement,

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.

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Comments & Trackbacks

  1. [...] YouTube & Google (GOOG), and are coming up with their own strategies for online video. Today, NBC (GE) confirmed to NewTeeVee that it pulled its content off YouTube in a shift towards its own service, a joint venture with [...]

    Big Media vs. YouTube & Google: Smart or Not? « GigaOM on October 22nd, 2007 at 3:50 pm - Permalink

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  3. [...] the joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp, is set to launch soon. NBC has quietly pulled its content from YouTube ahead of the launch. NBC and Google started a channel on YouTube back in June. Earlier, NBC [...]

    Hulu coming (very) soon? - NovaScene on October 22nd, 2007 at 10:25 pm - Permalink

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  5. [...] (NBC pulled down its YouTube station yesterday, implying that Hulu might launch soon.) As for film, the iTunes store stocks fewer than 1,000 titles from Disney, Lionsgate, MGM, Paramount and independent film makers. The Princess Bride was the top selling film for the past two months, which is a great movie and everything, but probably isn’t moving as many copies as the redemption story of a stoner. [...]

    Apple Can’t Catch A Break / Jossip on October 23rd, 2007 at 2:30 pm - Permalink

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  7. [...] (NBC pulled down its YouTube station yesterday, implying that Hulu might launch soon.) [...]

    Apple Can’t Catch A Break at MyQaeda Celebrity Fashion Blog on October 25th, 2007 at 10:54 am - Permalink

  8. [...] Media vs YouTube & Google: Smart or Not. Also: NBC confirms pulling YouTube content for Hulu and No more NBC shows on iTunes Mad Money & Battle For The 10th Spot NewCo now has new CEO Is [...]

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  9. [...] told us it pulled its content from YouTube in anticipation of Hulu’s debut, but over on Hulu, I [...]

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  10. [...] own terms. But now things have come full circle. Hulu, the launch of which prompted its parent NBC to pull down all its content from YouTube, has now started a YouTube channel of its own — with NBC’s (and FOX’s) blessing. The [...]

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  11. [...] That volume extends to its collection of TV shows: Amazon offers all the episodes from the first four seasons of The Office. Hulu, meanwhile, has five complete episodes available. (iTunes doesn’t have any, because The Office is on NBC, and NBC and Apple still don’t get along.) [...]

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  12. [...] YouTube to seek out a single label’s portal. NBC, for instance, pulled all its content off YouTube and iTunes (though the network recently reversed the latter, and Hulu now has a YouTube channel of [...]

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  13. [...] spat in December, and NBC still hasn’t come back after yanking its YouTube channel in 2007 in preparation for Hulu’s launch. UMG has long been YouTube’s most-viewed channel of all time, with nearly 3.6 billion [...]

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