YouTube to Add TV Channels With Premium Content From Hollywood Providers

5:53 PM PDT 10/14/2011 by Paul Bond

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Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

The Google-owned company has been striking deals with Warner Bros., BermanBraun and others for an initiative expected to cost $150 million.

Google's YouTube has been striking deals with several content providers in an effort to add about two dozen channels that will offer TV-style entertainment and news, insiders confirmed Friday.

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The effort could yield some channels by early next year with original shows from such partners as Warner Bros., BermanBraun, FremantleMedia and Shine Group.

Details were sketchy on Friday, but some sources indicated Google would spend as much as $150 million on the effort.

Google, of course, made its reputation off of user-generated content but it has been adding premium fare at a fast clip, mostly in the form of movies it rents for $3.99 or older titles that it offers free with advertising.

While the addition of traditional TV shows via an a la carte model similar to the way YouTube offers movies is in the works, the creation of new channels with online programming is a somewhat separate initiative, insiders said.

An official announcment of the project is expected within about a month.