NBC closes YouTube account

Burbank (CA) - NBC has closed out its official Youtube account and removes all videos from the site as it prepares to launch its own video sharing outlet.

NBC announced a joint venture with News Corp earlier this year. The two media giants will launch a Youtube-like site called Hulu next week. The decision makes it easier for the content providers to regulate the videos and manage their advertising revenue.

A Youtube spokesperson said, "Our relationship with NBC was a Youtube success story, so we hope NBC decides to post more original content and stay engaged with our users," according to the Financial Times.

Content creators have been aggressively fighting Youtube since before it was acquired by Google for over $1 billion. However, some companies, like NBC, created their own accounts on the site to use the medium as a means of promoting their content. CBS is now the only major network actively pursuing an official Youtube marketing strategy.

Hulu, meanwhile, is in the middle of its own legal battle already. Another media-sharing site, Lulu, has filed a lawsuit claiming NBC and News Corp’s new site will confuse Web surfers and that the name is too alike given the similar nature of its content.