In the same week that has seen News Corp and NBC Universal officially launch Hulu.com, a new online professional programming portal, Google-owned YouTube has entered into a partnership with TiVo Inc. to bring its own brand of online video clips to conventional televisions.
TiVo announces deal to bring YouTube video clips to conventional TV. Credit: TiVo.
The new deal, which was announced yesterday by digital video recorder manufacturer TiVo, is expected to launch before the close of 2008 and will enable TiVo’s customers to use a set-top box to access and view YouTube video clips direct on their TVs.
While watching YouTube clips on regular television sets is already available via the likes of other delivery services such as Apple TV, TiVo believes that its user base of over 4 million subscribers could significantly enhance YouTube’s reputation away from its core computer demographic.
YouTube’s online popularity is monumental, with representative figures from Net research expert Nielsen Online indicating that the clip portal receives around 66 million visitors and 2.6 billion video views every month.
According to Nielsen, that coverage translates into approximately 57 percent of the 116.7 million online video watchers that consume Net-based clips each month.
“TiVo’s strategy is to bridge the gap between Web video and television and make as much content available as possible for our subscribers,” commented Tara Maitra, vice president and general manager of content services at TiVo.
The arrival of YouTube to TiVo is likely to help its online content arena garner bolstered exposure before those TV watchers not overly enamoured with the online media experience. It is also likely to widen TiVo’s deliver range yet further.
TiVo currently offers set-top box material from around 40 content partners, which sees high-profile TV shows such as ABC’s Desperate Housewives sitting alongside CNet video clips and CBS episode recaps, reports the New York Times.
TiVo users armed with the Series 3 and HD set-top hardware will be able to take advantage of the broadband-delivered YouTube content when it arrives, while a dedicated YouTube category is also in the offing too.
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