YouTube Targets Hispanic Audience with Full-Length Shows

YouTube has struck a content deal with the largest provider of Spanish language television in the United States. The partnership with Univision could be a major breakthrough in the Latino market.

As well as a self-titled channel, Univision runs TeleFutura and Galavision. It's best known for its broadcasting of telenovellas, a form of soap opera that air in Mexico and Venezuela. However, those won't be part of the YouTube deal because Univision only has TV broadcast rights rather than online rights to the U.S. market. (Source: wsj.com)

The content which most definitely will air includes Univision's own productions and will be in the form of full-length episodes. That's a big change for YouTube, which has traditionally only aired short clips of TV shows, often as previews of forthcoming episodes. Most existing full-length episodes on the site are older shows such as Star Trek and Beverly Hills 90210.

Revenue Sharing At Heart Of Deal

It doesn't appear as if YouTube will be paying a flat-fee for the content. Instead the two sides have struck a deal to split the revenue from placing ads alongside the videos. That could be particularly lucrative as the firms will be able to offer a very focused audience to advertisers trying to reach a Hispanic audience. Google reports that YouTube's Hispanic user base has increased by 80% over last year. (Source: blogspot.com)

The deal isn't merely notable for its Spanish language element, either. It's significant merely for the fact that YouTube has come to an agreement with such a major TV network. The deal is a big step forward in the push to carry more legal content from TV stations, as opposed to clips illegally uploaded by users. Many other major U.S. networks have opted not to partner with YouTube, instead attempting to build their own online video sites, including NBC's Hulu service.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of YouTube announcing it is to upgrade the maximum resolution available on the service from the current 720p HD format to 1080p. That format is also known as "Full HD" and is equivalent to the best picture quality available on mainstream consumer TV sets. It's not yet been confirmed if the Univision content will be available in HD format.