Under terms of the deal, a mix of new and library content from Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision TV programs will be featured and promoted throughout YouTube.

The deal, which marks the first time any Univision programming is available on the Web outside of its own properties, is part of YouTube’s effort to cater to one of the fastest growing segments of online users: The Hispanic community.

“We’ve seen 6.5 million Hispanic adults visit YouTube in the last year,” Chris Maxcy, head of content partnerships at YouTube, said during a call discussing the announcement. “That’s up 80 percent….To date our focus has mostly been on English language space….The Hispanic audience has been overlooked, yet it’s one of the fastest growing communities online.”

The official release:

UNIVISION BECOMES A PREMIER SPANISH-LANGUAGE CONTENT PARTNER WITH YOUTUBE

Partnership Marks One of the Most Comprehensive Deals of Full-Length Programming for YouTube and Brings YouTube’s Hispanic Community in the U.S. Top Programming from Univision’s Three Major Networks
NEW YORK, NY, November 16, 2009 — Univision Interactive Media, Inc., the digital division of Univision Communications Inc., the leading Spanish-language media company in the United States, today announced that it is partnering with YouTube to make short-length and long-form Univision videos available on the YouTube.com website.

“This is a very exciting milestone, as it represents the first time that any Univision programming is available on the Web outside our own properties in both a long and short form format,” said Kevin Conroy, president of Univision Interactive Media, Inc. “This partnership uniquely extends our reach to our audience and solidifies our position as the leading Spanish-language video provider for U.S. Hispanics with unparalleled programming in all respects.”

“Clearly, Univision has established itself as a premier provider of Spanish-language television content here in the U.S.,” said Chris Maxcy Head of Content Partnerships at YouTube. “This deal is a big win for us and marks one of the most comprehensive partnerships for full-length programming signed to date. There is a huge demand to watch Spanish-language content on YouTube. With this new partnership, our community here in the U.S. can watch and enjoy both short-length and long-form programming from Univision’s three major networks on our platform.”

Univision, TeleFutura and Galavisión television programs will be featured and promoted throughout the YouTube.com website. Content will be updated to include relevant offerings as well as an extensive archive of library programs. In addition to top Univision shows, users will have access to Univision.com videos across key content categories, as well as unique footage from Univision celebrity interviews and special events such as next year’s “Premio Lo Nuestro a la Música Latina” (Lo Nuestro Latin Music Awards). Univision will also be using YouTube’s leading Content ID technology to more effectively track user engagement and monetize Univision content uploaded by YouTube users.

This partnership solidifies Univision Interactive Media’s leadership position as it provides premier advertisers with unique sponsorship opportunities, including new inventory for display ads. This further establishes Univision Interactive Media as the ideal vehicle for advertisers to connect with U.S. Hispanics anytime, anywhere.

Eventually we’d like to make money out of it.”

Google CEO Eric Schmidt on YouTube

It’s been two years since the $1.65 billion acquisition and Google (GOOG) has yet to truly monetize YouTube. And while Google CEO Eric Schmidt insists the company has the “luxury of time” as it searches for ways to recoup its investment in the popular video site, it’s clear the issue is gradually becoming more pressing. “We’re waiting for the innovations,” Schmidt said recently. “The innovation will come. We know it will come. We know it’s there.”

Could the “it” to which Schmidt refers be the new e-commerce platform YouTube is launching? Perhaps. Beginning this week, YouTube is embedding “click-to-buy” links in certain videos on its site, which refer users to affiliate services selling the music featured in them. “Click-to-buy links are non-obtrusive retail links, placed on the watch page beneath the video with the other community features,” YouTube explained in a post to the Official Google Blog. “Just as YouTube users can share, favorite, comment on, and respond to videos quickly and easily, now users can click-to-buy products–like songs and video games–related to the content they’re watching on the site.”

An interesting idea. And should it prove successful, it could begin to justify YouTube’s jaw-dropping $1.65 billion purchase price. “This is just the beginning of building a broad, viable e-commerce platform for users and partners on YouTube,” the company explained. “Our vision is to help partners across all industries–from music, to film, to print, to TV–offer useful and relevant products to a large, yet targeted, audience, and generate additional revenue from their content on YouTube beyond the advertising we serve against their videos. And those partners who use our content identification and management system can also enable these links on user-generated content, by using Content ID to claim videos and choose to leave them up on the site.”