Google is set expand its online video giant YouTube even further, launching an official YouTube TV channel in the UK later this month through the Freesat service.
The channel will be added automatically to all Freesat devices in the UK, including various TVs and set top boxes, and will offer access to a range of popular YouTube videos without the need for internet access on a device.
Freesat is a free TV service similar to Freeview, although rather than receiving channels through a regular terrestrial aerial, a satellite dish is used – hence the name, Free-sat. The service was launched as a joint venture between ITV and the BBC, and has been running since 2008.
The service already offers around 60 free to view channels – a few less than the arguably more popular Freeview – and YouTube will add to that number by the end of month.
As for the content it will offer Freesat users, it’s likely to be hand-picked by the folks at YouTube themselves rather than users having free reign of the site to pick videos at will. It’s thought that Google will work with producers and various studios to score deals that will bring their content to the TV channel, such as Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One cookery shows.
TV channels aren’t a new thing for YouTube – over 60 were launched around the world last year alone, and it would seem that the company is a firm believer in broadcast television.
The channel will launch at the end of the month for all Freesat viewers in the UK.
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Tags: channel, Freesat, Freeview, google, on demand, TV, Video, YouTube, YouView
