Applications
NBC, YouTube in strategic partnership
MUMBAI: US broadcaster NBC and online video destination YouTube have announced a strategic partnership that will combine NBC‘s programming with YouTube‘s vast audience to enhance the entertainment experience on YouTube while engaging viewers in new ways to promote NBC‘s Fall program lineup and other preferred shows over the next year. The agreement also includes an integrated, cross-promotional advertising relationship on the YouTube service and significant on-air promotion provided by NBC. |
NBC will create an official NBC Channel on YouTube to house its Fall Preview area with exclusive clips to promote NBC‘s The Office. In addition, over the next year, NBC will upload several video presentations and longform promos per week to the NBC Channel on YouTube from primetime and late-night programs like Saturday Night Live, The Office, and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. YouTube will also promote NBC‘s videos throughout the site. NBC Universal Television Group chief marketing officer John Miller says, “The YouTube and NBC partnership symbolises what can happen when traditional media companies and new media companies find common ground. YouTube is the perfect online media partner to promote NBC‘s marquee entertainment to their audience and explore new and creative ways to harness the power of viral video in a manner that respects copyrights. We applaud YouTube for their continued willingness to work with us to remove any unauthorised NBC content and protect our copyrighted material. We are thrilled to be partnering with this forward-thinking company.” |
YouTube co-founder and CEO Chad Hurley says, “We are delighted to work with NBC on an official basis. Bringing more entertaining and exclusive content to YouTube helps further our goal of providing the best video entertainment experience on the Internet. This partnership provides greater visibility and access to both NBC and YouTube‘s audiences, providing both companies with new outlets for growth and opportunity.” Additionally, NBC will launch a contest for its comedy The Office where people can submit their own creative 20-second promotional videos to NBC‘s YouTube Group (www.youtube.com/theoffice). NBC will publicise the campaign on air regularly during the first three weeks of the contest, encouraging YouTube users to enter. User-generated videos must be compelling and entertaining and create interest for potential viewers to watch “The Office.” Examples can be seen in the NBC YouTube Group. The contest runs till 21 July 2006. The winning video will air within the network broadcast of The Office during August. NBC will also offer a ‘how-to‘ video featuring writer-producer Bill Lowery, who normally writes and produces all the network‘s promos for The Office. Miller adds, “We are excited about customising the NBC channel and sharing with our subscribers all the entertaining promotional content we are offering to encourage them to watch our Fall line-up and other programmes. With the contest, we want to have some fun and allow an artistic avenue for fans of The Office. We know they have a lot of great ideas that deserve to be shared and we can‘t wait to see what they upload to YouTube.” People now watch more than 70 million videos per day on YouTube, and it is the 17th most trafficked Web site in the world. |
Applications
Canva acquires animation and AI startups Cavalry and MangoAI
The deals strengthen Canva’s push into enterprise and AI-led design workflows
AUSTRALIA: Global visual communication platform Canva has stepped up its acquisition drive, buying UK-based 2D animation platform Cavalry and US-based AI startup MangoAI to deepen its AI-powered creative stack.
Cavalry, whose tools are used by brands including Amazon, Meta, Google and Netflix, will strengthen Canva’s motion design capabilities. The deal builds on Canva’s 2024 acquisition of Affinity, which has crossed four million downloads since launch. With Cavalry, Canva now counts seven Europe-based acquisitions, underscoring its global expansion strategy.
MangoAI, an early-stage startup focused on video advertising optimisation, will integrate its reinforcement learning systems into Canva AI. The move aims to enable brands to generate personalised marketing content in real time, cutting production cycles while improving campaign performance. MangoAI co-founder Vinith Misra will join Canva as reinforcement learning lead in its research lab.
Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht said the acquisitions reflect the company’s ambition to make professional-grade creative tools more accessible without sidelining human creativity. The goal, he said, is to bring everything from vector to motion design into a single, integrated suite.
The company now reports 265 million active users, including 31 million paid subscribers, and $4 billion in annualised revenue, up 36 per cent year on year. The latest buys further position Canva against rivals such as Adobe and Apple’s Creator Studio as it pushes deeper into enterprise workflows.
Canva head of pro design marketing Liam Fisher, said AI is intended to act as a creative assistant rather than a replacement, reinforcing the primacy of craft and individual design judgement.
