NBC Universal has removed all its video clips from YouTube and closed a promotional channel on the site in advance of the launch next week of its own rival service, Hulu. NBC said it was intended to provide a boost to Hulu, which is a joint venture with News Corp's Fox division, and did not represent a new, tougher line that the company was taking against Google.

“Down the road, we will be open to promoting our content as we see fit,” the company said, adding that NBC was “not closing the door on anything”. Meanwhile, a YouTube spokesperson said NBC had informed them of their plans on Friday, and added: “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.”

The massive popularity on YouTube of Lazy Sunday, an NBC Saturday Night Live clip, was a watershed in revealing the new medium's ability to circulate video to millions of viewers on the internet.Since then, NBC and other networks have posted promotional clips for programmes on the site.

NBC and News Corp have promoted Hulu as a way to supply their professionally made video to online audiences in an environment that respects copyrights.

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