This is huge breaking news and is all over the web today. Sky and Google are to partner over offering Sky-branded, but Google-based services. The two companies will team up to offer online video (both Sky content and user-generated), voice communications and search advertising.
Sky will launch a user-generated video portal powered by Google’s video tools – whether that’s going to be YouTube tools or Google video is not clear as yet.
Sky broadband customers will get an @sky.com email address powered by Google’s services for domains.
Sky also says it plans to “explore opportunities” in Google’s VoIP capabilities.
Google’s AdSense advertising tools will also be used across Sky’s websites.
Financial terms of the deal have not been revealed.
We’ll do some more analysis of this later today. But suffice it to say this is really going to change the game, especially for Sky which is battling the tectonic shift of audiences from TV to the Web and online video. It also means a significant foothold in the UK market with a content player which will further power its ad revenues.
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