Sky and Google's YouTube partnership talks fall through
BSkyB will go no further towards making their content available free on Google’s YouTube, the Daily Telegraph have revealed today.
The news comes as another twist in the saga between Richard Murdoch’s News Corp (majority stakeholders in Sky) and YouTube owners Google. News Corp have previously labelled Google as “parasites” and “thieves” for what they consider is the unfair distribution of their news content.
Sky were beginning to warm to the idea of distributing full length shows on YouTube, but have decided that the content would have to come at a price. With YouTube as yet unprepared to put a premium on content found on their site, it appears that Murdoch and co. are attempting to hammer home their mantra that no good journalism comes free of charge.
A Sky spokesman said: “The pay model is at the heart of our business and allows us to invest significantly in high-quality, distinctive content.”
Sky do offer an online video-on-demand service, their Sky Player. However, the Sky Player is only available to those who already have a subscription with the Pay TV merchants.
Though Google refused to comment directly on negotiations with Sky, a spokesman said: “We are, of course, always talking to rights holders large and small about the distribution and revenue opportunities for their content on YouTube.”
Via: The Daily Telegraph
