The deal will see content from Chelsea FC's subscription channel, Chelsea TV, appear in a uniquely branded area of YouTube. This Chelsea-devoted section of YouTube will offer users daily news updates and archived video footage of Chelsea FC football games, as well as many other features.
Due to restrictions in the Premier League's broadcast contract, live footage from Chelsea football matches will not be shown on YouTube. All the content shown on YouTube will be produced by Chelsea Digital Media, a joint venture owned by Chelsea FC and BSkyB.
The deal comes as YouTube, purchased last year for a staggering $1.65 billion by search engine giant Google, moves to legitimise its content. This follows the filing of a lawsuit by Viacom earlier this year, after pirated versions of the smash hit television programme, 24, were shown on YouTube before they were released on television.
A great deal of YouTube's phenomenal success lies in the fact that it allows users to publish home-made videos and bootlegged video footage. An astonishing 100,000 videos are uploaded onto the site every day, but many of these clips constitute copyrighted material that is produced by major TV and film corporations.
The deal between Chelsea FC and YouTube is significant because football-related clips bring vast amounts of traffic to the site, as users constantly upload video clips of their goals, football skills and their favourite football moments. In fact, one of the most popular video clips on YouTube is the clash between Chelsea FC and FC Barcelona in the 2006 Champions League quarter final.
In the past, the Premier League have been in contact with YouTube over removing all content from the site. Chelsea has counteracted by striking a deal with YouTube so that all content uploaded to the video sharing site is legitimate. Chelsea FC will also retain control over which videos appear in the branded area of the website.
