Mergers, Acquisitions, Alliances and Synergies Case Study

Case Title:

BBC - YouTube Pact: A Win-Win Strategy

Abstract:
New trends have appeared in the media industry and it has been inundated with new technologies catering mainly to the young audience. The media and entertainment industry is characterised by the growth of variety of edufotainment (education, information, entertainment) programmes. This led to the synergy of video sharing websites and international broadcasters. BBC, one of the leading, credible international broadcasters, struck a deal on March 2nd 2007 with YouTube, the Google-owned video sharing portal. According to the deal, three channels were created 'BBC Worldwide', 'BBC', and 'BBC News' to showcase short clips of the BBC programmes content on the YouTube site. The deal was expected to benefit both BBC and YouTube. The case provides room for discussion on the impact of the deal and the opportunities and threats faced by video sharing websites.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To understand the changing scenario in the media industry
• To discuss the evolution in edufotainment programmes
• To analyse the challenges and opportunities of the BBC-YouTube deal
• To discuss the scope and future of web 2.0 companies.

Keywords : BBC; YouTube; Entertainment and Media Industry; strategy; Convergence; Digitalisation; Win-Win Strategy; Mergers,Acquisitions,Alliances Case Study; Broadcasting; Social Networking