NBC Announces Alliance With YouTube.com

YouTube is now synonymous with the likes of Google and MySpace as one of the Internet's hippest buzzwords and has now become the talk of the Internet since launching a little over a year ago.

Infopacket columnist Sarah Perez even lists the video sharing page as one of her top ten sites that have changed the Internet.

In only five months -- from January 2006 to May 2006 -- YouTube leaped from 2,471 unique visitors a month to a whopping 12,669.

And now the big boys are taking notice. Television network giant NBC has struck a deal with YouTube.com that promises to be mutually beneficial to both parties.

YouTube will feature clips of some of NBC's top shows -- including Saturday Night Live, The Office, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. (Source: pcmag.com)

NBC, in turn, will advertise YouTube on TV.

The massive exposure YouTube will gain from being publicized on NBC is guaranteed to boost the website's already impressive visitor count numbers. The partnership will also significantly increase YouTube's credibility. Being aligned with a powerhouse like NBC sends a strong message -- that YouTube is a major player.

Ironically, YouTube was embroiled in a controversy with NBC only a few months ago.

Back in February, NBC ordered YouTube to remove a clip of Saturday Night Live -- called "Lazy Sunday" -- that was illegally posted on the website. YouTube immediately complied with the network's request by yanking the offending video.

Since then, YouTube has been vigilant about removing videos containing copyrighted material. (Source: news.com)

While only speculation, it's possible that YouTube's quick, decisive, and positive reaction to NBC's request planted the seeds for their eventual partnership.

Of course, a quick search on YouTube.com will reveal quite a number of copyrighted clips that have slipped through the cracks. However, in all fairness, videos can be posted on YouTube by anyone at any time -- thus making it almost impossible for the company to find and eliminate every illegal piece of footage on the site.