The Cartoon Network has decided to do a deal with the Annoying Orange, the smart-alecky Web series that attracted over 800 million views on YouTube.

It’s a win for the Collective, a newish Hollywood management company with a focus on Web conten. Rather than pursue the normal path to TV — selling the idea to a channel, which in turn makes a pilot — the Collective tried it in reverse: self-financing a pilot and then shopping the finished product.