YouTube to Offer MGM Movies, TV Episodes

YouTube and MGM are about to announce a partnership in which movies and TV shows will be offered on the video-sharing website, reports the New York Times. The deal is part of a strategy by YouTube owner Google to cozy up to Hollywood in a bid to compete with rival Hulu. YouTube has already made deals with CBS and Lionsgate, and started posting episodes of older shows like Star Trek and Beverly Hills 90210.

“YouTube is essentially saying to media companies, ‘We are sorry for our past copyright stance; let’s see how we can make some money together,'" said an industry analyst. “They have hundreds of millions of views and it will be very hard for studios to pass that up.” MGM will soon post episodes on YouTube of American Gladiators and films The Magnificent Seven and Bulletproof Monk, which will be available for free.

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