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MGM on YouTube – who's next?

November 10, 2008 — 12:39pm ET | By Doug Mohney

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) is putting full length action films on YouTube, plus episodes of its decade-old leftover "American Gladiators" program. Clips from popular films will also be available and viewing will be free to watch, with ads running beside the video.

The deal is being viewed as a catch-up move by YouTube and a "gee, we need the money" deal for MGM. Hollywood executives have been pained over the way unauthorized clips from TV shows and movies have appeared on YouTube without permission while advertisers have been happy with unfiltered user-generated content.

YouTube is working hard to work with Hollywood, having recently booked deals with Lionsgate and CBS. Viewers can now tap into full-length episodes of "Star Trek" and "Beverly Hills 90210" at YouTube. More details are expected to follow as YouTube offers the carrot of new revenue streams.

Technology is also playing a role in the new pitch to Hollywood. YouTube has a new way for media companies to spot unauthorized clips on its site. VideoID allows companies to decide to either remove clips or leave them up and sell ads on them. Given the hundreds of millions of monthly viewers coming to YouTube, there's a lot of potential money on the table.

MGM says it is starting slowly with YouTube, using action films to promote the studio's video-on-demand channel on Comcast (Hmm, but will viewing count against Comcast's bandwidth cap?). The company doesn't expect to put its full catalog online, but some non-18-54 male content is likely to appear relatively soon.

Other companies, including Time Warner, are currently experimenting with YouTube technology, so speculation is hot as to which studios will slip their toes into the YouTube pond.

For more:
- New York Times reports on MGM putting movies on YouTube. Article.