The six-figure contract will allow 23-year-olds Joe Bereta and Luke Barats to develop series including low-cost sitcoms to sketch comedies.
The pair have worked as stand-ups and won a film festival in their college town of Spokane, Washington – where they study at Gonzaga University – last year.
But since they started posting their short films on the viral video site in March, they have won a huge audience. Their last short, Completely Uncalled For, based on a Knock Knock joke, generated more than 1 million views in its first five days of release as well as several imitators.
Their deal with NBC will run for a year, with the option of a second year, and also gives the network first refusal on using the pair to peform on TV shows, according to Hollywood trade publication Variety.
NBC previously revived the failed sitcom pilot Nobody's Watching, originally made and turned down by a rival broadcaster, after it became a hit on YouTube.
