NBC And News Corp. Take On YouTube

Networks Agree To Distribute Shows And Clips Through Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft And MySpace

(AP)  NBC Universal and News Corp. joined forces Thursday with several major Internet companies to distribute TV shows, video clips and movies online in an effort to better control their programming and counter competition from YouTube.

The new network, which would launch this summer, comes in response to the explosive growth of Google Inc.'s YouTube, a do-it-yourself video-sharing site that is being sued by Viacom Inc., another major media company, for copyright infringement.

The venture is aimed at giving broadcasting companies like NBC and News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network and the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, greater control over how their shows are distributed on the Internet. NBC, a unit of General Electric Co., also owns the Universal film studio and several cable channels, including Bravo.

Rather than create one online destination, the shows will be available through a number of Web sites that already receive large numbers of visitors, including Yahoo, Time Warner Inc.'s AOL, Microsoft Corp.'s MSN, and MySpace, which is owned by News Corp.

NBC, Fox and other TV networks have been scrambling to find ways to distribute their shows online in a way that they can control and generate revenue from advertising.

Several media companies have experimented with ways to stream video of their shows over the Internet and sell advertising to support it, but no clear business model has yet emerged.

This month, CBS Corp. is streaming NCAA basketball games with ads, and Walt Disney Co.'s ABC network streams full episodes of some of its hit shows online such as "Lost," also supported by ads. Several networks also sell downloads of their shows that can be viewed on iPods, televisions and computers through Apple Inc.'s iTunes store.

TV programs owned by NBC and News Corp. such as "Heroes," "24," and "House" as well as clips and movies will appear on the new ad-supported online network. NBC and News Corp. say they have already signed up a number of key advertisers, including General Motors Corp., Intel Corp. and Cadbury Schweppes PLC.

YouTube allows millions of users to see clips from network shows uploaded by users, but several media companies have fought what they say is unauthorized use of their programming and have demanded that it be taken down. NBC famously asked YouTube to remove unauthorized clips of mock-rap videos from "Saturday Night Live" such as "Lazy Sunday," which had received huge numbers of viewings.

In its lawsuit, Viacom — the parent company of Comedy Central and other traditional cable TV channels — says YouTube is encouraging copyright infringement.

YouTube says it's protected by law so long as it promptly takes down any copyright-protected material as soon as it's asked to.

[inventagod]

Couldn't be that YouTube provides America with an alternative look at the true bad guys on 9/11, and Bu$hCo wishes that would just go away....
Naaa - the Big Media guys just want more money
more money
more money

No more free press...

[Renegade.Rivers]

The most interesting part of the article I found is that NBC also own Fox, isn't that news at its best, lol. No matter which way they slant the news they can hope for an audience, I never watched Fox, now I won't watch NBC either.

[bildooreilly]

The tv and cable networks are in a full fledged nose dive, they deserve it too for brainwashing and lying to the american people for decades. They can't stop independent media. You see holly wood is the wood the druidic magicians often used to craft their magic wands, magicians have a thing with the cube, the television is their magic box where they will things into reality... all they have to do is show it enough and people will go out and do it. Now with the internet though we all have our very own magic box and they can't stand it.

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Couldn't be that YouTube provides America with an alternative look at the true bad guys on 9/11, and Bu$hCo wishes that would just go away....
Naaa - the Big Media guys just want more money
more money
more money

No more free press...
Posted by inventagod at 02:56 PM : Mar 22, 2007
+ report this comment

[bildooreilly]

I stopped watching television a long long time ago.... It's really nothing more than subversive mind control, they don't call it "Programming" for nothing. Check out the CIA's Monarch and MKULTRA Programs .

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The most interesting part of the article I found is that NBC also own Fox, isn't that news at its best, lol. No matter which way they slant the news they can hope for an audience, I never watched Fox, now I won't watch NBC either.
Posted by renrivers at 03:28 PM : Mar 22, 2007
+ report this comment

[XFunc_CaRteR]

Wow, television is going to move off the TV onto the Internet. And this is supposed to excite me? Not! Ever wonder why people left TV in droves to go to the Internet? Maybe because TV is all bland, formulaic *** made by a self-appointed inbred elite of "professionals" who are so self-absorbed in their own little La-La-Land they've lost any sense of what really is cool and refreshing to watch?

[abigail70]

Eh, I happen to think it's fantastic. I rarely watch TV, other than "Heroes", but would love to be able to see what I want, when I want, without having to futz around with DVD's or DVR's or TiVo, etc. YouTube's become one giant vat of idiots, so I'm pretty jazzed to hear about being able to watch "House" online.

[bildooreilly]

I'm watching a great movie on video.google.com right now called "Top 13 Illuminati Bloodlines" by Fritz Springmeier... he lays it all out, great presentation, too bad they can't show real knowledge and information on television.... go check it out before google deletes it. Go see what's really running our country.

[hypnotoad72]

The big media likes to dumb down the audience for more advertising coverage. Which is the reason it's turning people off of it. Apart from idiots, but what good are they?

Especially turning niche genres (e.g. sci-fi) into something "accessible for the masses". Anybody who appreciates sci-fi for what it is should search some of what writer Norman Spinrad has to say; he hits the nail on the head and more...

[sshard]

bildooreilly

Terror Storm is one of the better ones.
Martial Law 9/11 is just downright scary.

Gotta give credit to video.google