Disney Media Networks is bringing its short-form content to YouTube. Walt Disney’s television division inked a distribution deal with YouTube on Monday.
The agreement paves the way for Disney to launch several ad-supported channels that feature short-form content from ESPN and the Disney/ABC Television Group. Disney can either sell its own advertising inventory on those channels or sell ads from other companies.
The Disney channels will begin to roll out on YouTube beginning in mid-April for ESPN content and in early May for the Disney/ABC Television Group. The latter includes ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Family, and SOAPnet.
“This deal provides us with the opportunity to reach a broader online audience, to experiment with different monetization models and to extend the reach of our advertisers within branded environments that they most desire,” said Anne Sweeney, cochair of Disney Media Networks and president of Disney/ABC Television Group. YouTube attracts about 100 million users a month.
Integrating Professional Programming
As part of the agreement, the ESPN video player will be integrated into ESPN’s channel on YouTube and anchor a wide variety of sports content and highlights on YouTube. ESPN will also make additional short-form content available through YouTube’s player. ESPN content that is available on the ESPN channel and player will not contain long-form content from its linear networks.
“Reaching and engaging fans is paramount in all that we do as a company, and YouTube is a great platform to achieve that goal,” said George Bodenheimer, cochair of Disney Media Networks and president of ESPN and ABC Sports. “Making our content available to fans via YouTube presents an extraordinary opportunity for ESPN to create new revenue streams and new value to advertisers as they continue to look for new ways to connect with fans in the digital environment.”
YouTube is not Disney’s only online play. ABC streams television…