YouTube becomes mainstream media

A lot of talk in education about YouTube has centred around the ‘dangers’ of this open-access, user-generated visual content repository. In some places this adds up to “if you can’t control it, then block it”.

So the report from BBC news – BBC Strikes Google-YouTube Deal – puts a new twist on media and news distribution, and shows how Web 2.0 tools are re-aligning the global media & communications industry.

BBC has struck three deals in one with YouTube – non-exclusive and set to run for several years.

• BBC: One of the BBC’s two entertainment channels will be a “public service” proposition, featuring no advertising.

• BBC Worldwide: The second entertainment channel will feature self-contained clips – about three to six minutes long – mining popular programmes in the BBC’s archive.

• BBC News: The news channel, which will be launched later this year, will show about 30 news clips per day.

The BBC’s director of Future Media and Technology, Ashley Highfield, said the deal was “not about distributing content like full-length programmes; YouTube is a promotional vehicle for us”.

Thanks BBC! – what you’ve given us is a promotional tool to counter-act hysteria in some education circles.