Walt Disney Co is in talks to buy Maker Studios, potentially valuing the fast-growing developer and publisher of YouTube entertainment videos at half a billion dollars or more, tech blog Re/code reported on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources.
If the deal goes through, it would be one of the largest investments in a YouTube developer by a traditional media giant. In past years, the website, which is owned by Google Inc , has tried to beef up revenue by fostering a community of professional and commercial developers, spurring the growth of channels such as Machinima and Maker.
Maker draws some 5.5 billion views monthly and has raised some $70 million in financing through investors such as Time Warner Investments.
Disney declined to comment. Maker Studios was not available for comment.
Earlier this month, Dish Network and Disney reached a landmark deal that envisions the day when Dish will offer a Netflix-like TV service to people who'd rather stream TV over the Internet than put a satellite receiver on their roof.
The deal announced late paves the way for Dish to offer live local broadcasts from ABC TV stations and programming from ABC Family, DisneyChannel, ESPN and ESPN2 over mobile devices, set-top boxes and other means, similar to how Netflix's video streams are delivered today.
No start date for such a service was announced. It is likely that Dish will have to cut similar deals with other programmers to make such a service attractive. A Dish spokesman refused to speculate on what the offering would cost.
Written with inputs from AP and Reuters
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