Disney-YouTube Deal Offers Free Full-Length Episodes

Once upon a time, back in November of last year, the New York Times reported that the Walt Disney Company and Google's YouTube had struck a deal: the pair would spend $10 million to $15 million to create an original video series that would be featured on Disney's YouTube channel.

An awesome added bonus: Disney would feature full-length episodes from some of its most popular television series on YouTube -- for free.

According to an AllThingsD report on March 5, this part of the agreement just recently went into effect. In the last few days, full-length episodes from Disney original series like "The Suite Life of Zack and Cody," "The Proud Family," "Hannah Montana," and more have cropped up on Disney's YouTube channel. Right now, there's a total of 67 uploads.

The Verge pointed out that the original content Disney said it would be creating for YouTube -- a webseries based on the mobile app "Where's My Water?" -- has yet to pop up on its channel alongside the company's full-length television series episodes; however, Disney has uploaded nearly a dozen of its minute-long "Last Minute Book Reports" videos, a series also run as podcasts on its website.

This news may be exciting for some older Disney fans who have likely grown up to be savvy web-users (and might feel a bit nostalgic...). Along with more recent TV hits, Disney's YouTube channel features episodes from long-lost, off-air series like "Lizzie McGuire" and "Even Stevens," which had been popular in the early 2000s. But, unfortunately, there are only a few of each of those so far.

To find out what other shows you can watch on Disney's YouTube channel, check out its playlists. Which show are you going to watch first?

Comments

[akrazyrunner]

09:21 AM on 03/07/2012

Where are the original episodes of the Mickey Mouse Club?
Every so often I just need to hear Jimmy croon

[jsgaetano]

04:03 AM on 03/07/2012

I always found it odd that services like Netflix and Hulu were airing full episodes, but YouTube was pulling more content than they were serving. Even sites like Adult Swim are choosing to "roll their own", making on-demand access to their content extremely difficult.

[mjredder]

08:12 AM on 03/07/2012

Yeah, I agree. I've been an online-only viewer for over a year now, and it's frustrating that the nature of the business is preventing the creation of a real online hub for video content. Everyone wants to sell the ad space on their own servers, so no one wants to work together, other than the networks involved in Hulu.

[Debbie Liebman Musselman]

12:19 AM on 03/07/2012

Speaking of Disney, just want to say that the world lost a Disney icon yesterday. Robert Sherman of the Sherman brothers passed away yesterday. He will always be remembered for his amazing lyrics from Mary Poppins, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Jungle Book, Charlotte's Web and of course "It's a Small World". The list goes on and on. RIP Bob. You will be missed greatly but know that your music has touched millions.

[meritocracy]

10:04 AM on 03/07/2012

How about the Carousel of Progress' "There's a Great Big, Beautiful Tomorrow"? The attraction was a "can't miss" at the '64 World's Fair in NY, and still packs in the tourists at Walt Disney World to this day.

[Edward Diller]

09:36 PM on 03/06/2012

Wow thats awesome lol i love phineas and ferb,
i saw something interesting about this on dumbyouth.com
check it out...

[NHBill]

08:50 PM on 03/06/2012

Disney Silly Symphony The Ugly Duckling 1939

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3t5BmU3uYQ&feature=related

[NHBill]

08:49 PM on 03/06/2012

There is a lot of marvelous Walt Disney animation on You Tube.
The real stuff from the 30's-50's.
Here's a fine short from 1952.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRtKAQJUc3g

[Unclebuggies]

08:16 PM on 03/06/2012

Great! Sounds like it's time for this dad of two young kids to cut the cable, since we can now watch Phineas and Ferb on YouTube.