In the never ending battle between video sites and studios, MGM and Youtube are close to an agreement. They’ve decided to allow Youtube to host full length videos on their site. Starting today, YouTube will have some of MGM’s content available.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios will kick off the partnership by posting
episodes of its decade-old “American Gladiators” program to YouTube,
along with full-length action films like “Bulletproof Monk” and “The
Magnificent Seven” and clips from popular movies like “Legally Blonde.”
These will be free to watch, with ads running alongside the video.

They are not the only studio considering posting content online in this format. Hulu also features full length movies and television shows, with limited interruption. Hulu does not, however, allow viewer created content, which makes it a bigger draw for advertisers.
There are other studios warming to the idea as well.

Lionsgate has also tiptoed onto YouTube, putting up clips from certain
films and TV shows and directing viewers to sites where they can buy
the DVD or pay for a full-length download.

This is a huge turn around for YouTube. Previously, they faced lawsuits and cease and desist orders, when copyrighted content was discovered online. Things have loosened up a bit, allowing posting of certain shows and clips. This is a turn in an interesting direction, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

Article Tags: ads | adverstising | clips | Hulu | MGM | videos | YouTube

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