There’s a new member in the Mickey Mouse club.
In a multi-million dollar deal scheduled for announcement today, the Walt Disney Company and YouTube are partnering to create and distribute original content, reported the New York Times.
Under the terms of the deal, up to a combined $15 million will be spent creating eight original shows, to be produced by Disney but distributed across both Disney.com and YouTube. As stated by the Times, the first installment will be “Where’s My Water?” based on the popular puzzle app.
Disney will create an “original video series; those shorts will be produced by Disney Interactive Media and distributed on a co-branded channel on YouTube,” the Times reported.
In the article, James A. Pitaro, co-president of Disney Interactive, said the goal is to “bring Disney’s legacy of storytelling to a new generation of families and Disney enthusiasts on the platforms they prefer.” That will be slightly tricky, since YouTube’s terms of agreement require users to be at least 13 years old.
This announcement comes one week after YouTube’s game-changing announcement of new professional content that will rival regular television offerings.
The company plans to sink $100 million into creating channels hosted by the likes of Madonna, Marvel comic founder Stan Lee, author Deepak Chopra, skateboard great Tony Hawk, and CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker.
Both YouTube and Disney have plenty to gain in the partnership, each boasting a unique brand, audience, and expertise. The two could go together like Mickey and Pluto.
Image by wwarby
