Univision coming to YouTube

November 16, 2009

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The Univision Building in Los Angeles. YouTube and Univision announced an agreement on Monday to bring short- and long-form programming from the Spanish-language broadcast network to the video-sharing site.

YouTube and Univision announced an agreement on Monday to bring short- and long-form programming from the Spanish-language broadcast network to the video-sharing site.

YouTube said shows from Univision's three networks -- Univision, TeleFuture and Galavision -- will be available in the coming months on the Google-owned video site along with special events such as Lo Nuestro Latin Music Awards.

"This is a very exciting milestone," said Kevin Conroy, president of Univision Interactive Media, Inc.

"It represents the first time that any Univision programming is available on the Web outside our own properties in both a long- and short-form format," he said in a statement.

Chris Maxcy, head of content partnerships at YouTube, said the deal "marks one of the most comprehensive partnerships for full-length programming signed to date."

"There is a huge demand to watch Spanish-language content on YouTube," Maxcy said.

YouTube said its Hispanic audience has grown 80 percent in the last year.

Revenue from advertising will be split between YouTube and Univision.

Google, which bought YouTube for 1.65 billion dollars in 2006, has been adding more professional content to the site, known for its user-generated video, in a bid to make it more attractive to advertisers.

YouTube has yet to make money but Google executives have said recently that it is getting closer to becoming profitable.

YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley said last month that YouTube had surpassed more than one billion views a day.

(c) 2009 AFP