Heavyweights Challenge YouTube

[moongirl]

December 11, 2006
Four major TV networks are considering creating a jointly owned Web site to offer their programming online rather than have to chase down pirated clips on YouTube, a source close to the talks confirmed Monday.

Fox, Viacom, CBS and NBC Universal have been in talks over the last few months, according to the source, who asked to remain anonymous. "We are approaching it seriously," the source said. "They are ongoing and preliminary discussions... Everybody wants to figure out the right (online business) model."

Spokespeople from the four networks either did not return calls seeking comment or declined to comment on the talks, which were first reported Saturday by The Wall Street Journal.

The talks deal with complicated matters for the networks--how to put programming on the Internet without cannibalizing TV efforts; how to do that quickly enough to prevent YouTube from profiting; and how to avoid ceding control or branding to partners. ABC parent Walt Disney is not participating in the talks, preferring to go it alone, while the group snubbed a proposal from News Corp., which also owns Fox, to use its MySpace social-networking site as the host of the video, the source said.

NBC, owned by General Electric, struck a deal with Google's popular YouTube in June that allows the video sharing site to host promotional video clips of some NBC shows and CBS inked its own deal with YouTube in October.

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[Layzie Bone]

Considering the amount of media viewed on computers and the ability to now multitask and the avialablity of high definiton on computers. Other factors like how flat panel screens have come way down in price. These are good reasons for web-based TV. Oh, and I forgot, practically everyone has high speed internet.

[moongirl]

NBC and News Corp. to Create YouTube Rival

[quote]24/03/2007
Two big media companies, the News Corporation and NBC Universal, announced this week their joint venture to distribute video clips and entire shows and movies via a new Web site on an advertising-supported basis.

The venture, which does not have yet a name or a management team and is expected to start this summer, is a long-anticipated challenge to YouTube and other video sites. It has been conceived as a response to the popularity of YouTube-Google. The two companies have secured distribution deals with AOL, Yahoo, MSN and MySpace, four of the most popular destinations on the Internet (together they reach 96 percent of the Internet’s audience in the United States). Terms are undisclosed.

Those sites will feature the latest video clips and shows from their TV and film libraries for viewing on a free basis supported by advertising. Visitors to the site will also be able to edit the content and post their own videos. “For the first time, consumers will get professionally produced video delivered on the sites where they live,â€

[battye]

Thanks for posting this Moon, interesting articles.

It will be hard to rival Youtube, simply because of the reputation Youtube has built up. Not to mention a very large loyal userbase.

If Fox, NBC etc get together, no doubt they will build something pretty big (as I'm sure they will promote it to death on TV, such as "To see next week's preview, log on to http://www.whatever.com") but I really can't see it competing with Youtube.