• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, November 5, 2007

YouTube's partners have included MySpace and both of the nation's leading political parties. Now the omnipresent video-sharing site has reached a deal with Harpo Productions to distribute the Oprah channel online.

The Oprah channel on YouTube offers exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage from the "Oprah cam," Harpo Studios' green room, backstage highlights, and original content.

The goal of the partnership is "to provide another platform for people online to communicate with us," said Tim Bennett, president of Harpo Productions.

YouTube, meanwhile, has worked to expand its audience to new segments of the online viewing population, including older, less edgy demographics--like Oprah's.

"We are delighted that Oprah's channel will open up the dialogue with a new audience," said Jordan Hoffner, head of business development at YouTube.

To toast the new partnership, YouTube Founders Chad Hurley and Steve Chen are scheduled to appear on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" tomorrow. The episode is expected to expose Oprah's audience to some of the YouTube "stars" discovered by its community.

Oprah is also serving as a guest editor for the YouTube community today, while a few of her favorite videos are being featured on the YouTube home page.