YouTube to Partner with U.K.'s Channel 4 for long-form Video?

YouTube is close to agreeing to a landmark deal with U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, according to a report from the Telegraph. The partnership would see Channel 4 itself selling ad inventory around its long-form content, splitting a portion of that revenue with the Google-owned video site, the Telegraph says.

A Google spokesperson told me today the firm “does not comment on speculation,” but Google and Channel 4 have been ramping up their partnership over the past year or so, so this seems a logical progression. Channel 4 and YouTube began trialing pre-roll ads together in May, and video syndication and rights management company Myvideorights signed its own similar revenue sharing agreement with YouTube in June.

According to the Telegraph, however, the new deal would see the majority of Channel 4’s content available through the site, potentially opening up a range of high-value inventory for the broadcaster, and effectively snatching a large portion of the U.K.’s commercial video content from under the nose of rival Hulu which is yet to launch its product there.

According the Telegraph, the contract, which has been in negotiation for around six months, is due to be signed “imminently.”