Claiming the number 2 ranking in video content as measured by video streams per month, AOL.com Inc. (NYSE: AOL) this morning announced that the company has entered a deal with YouTube, which is owned by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) under which AOL’s “entire original video content will be distributed and monetized on YouTube.” AOL said it has nearly 20,000 videos available.
AOLl will offer its content on 22 curated YouTube channels. The company’s goal is to grab some of the ad revenues that currently come with YouTube video.
AOL claims it had more than 60 million unique visitors for the first time even in August, but that pales when compared with the 150 million or so visitors to YouTube. And YouTube streamed 13.7 billion videos in August, compared with 725 million at second-place AOL.
Some of the brands that AOL will distribute through YouTube include The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, and Moviefone. According to the company’s news release, AOL’s ad sales staff will handle advertising sales for the YouTube channels “opening up a new revenue stream for the company and delivering a significant amount of brand-safe inventory for advertisers.”
AOL’s shares are flat early this afternoon, at $35.23 in a 52-week range of $11.17 to $35.35.
Paul Ausick
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