Disney has been talking to Maker Studios about an acquisition that would value the YouTube network at $500 million or more, according to people familiar with the negotiations.
A deal isn't guaranteed. If it goes through, it would be by far the biggest bet by a traditional media company in a company built on top of YouTube, the world's largest video site. Maker says it now generates 5.5 billion video views a month, almost all of which take place on YouTube; it works with some of the site's most popular video makers, including Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg, a 24-year-old Swede who is currently YouTube's biggest star.
Ynon Kreiz, Maker's executive chairman, declined to comment when Re/code asked him about the negotiations this morning in person.
Re/code has the rest of the story.
—By Peter Kafka, Re/code.net.
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