Around the Net

Disney Helps YouTube Targets Kids

Per a programming deal reached last fall, YouTube just added about 70 videos from Disney’s Disney Channel -- many of which are full-length episodes, are all free of charge. “They’re even fully embeddable … if you’ve got 22 minutes to catch up on Zack and Cody’s suite life,” reports AllThingsD’s Peter Kafka. While less sexy than the new genre of Web video programs that YouTube and its partners are pioneering, Kafka reminds us that repurposed, long-form content is a pretty good business.

What’s more, kids’ obsessive viewing habits (and arguably low standards) make them an ideal demographic for any video business. “I’m not an expert on this flavor of kids’ programming, but I gather these are relatively old clips,” Kafka writes. “But I do know that kids don’t really care about the vintage of their Web videos -- they’re generally happy to watch whatever they watch, over and over again.” Adds Kafka: “That’s why kids’ videos are so important to Netflix, and why they’re potentially very important for Google.” Sure, Disney distributes its content quite widely, but that fact isn’t likely to diminish its value to such a well-positioned platform as YouTube.

Read the whole story at All Things D »

Next story loading loading..