Media Heavies plan to “innovate” answer to YouTube!


News Corp. and NBC Universal said on Thursday they will launch a free online video site this summer, featuring full-length movies and television shows in a challenge to Google Inc.’s YouTube.


This is the usual “news by PR release” - but, I’ll try to leave most of the crap in the linked article where you can graze if you feel like it.

News Corp. and NBC Universal said on Thursday they will launch a free online video site this summer, featuring full-length movies and television shows in a challenge to Google Inc.’s YouTube.

While NBC and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. compete fiercely for television and movie audiences globally, their partnership shows the risks executives are willing to take to regain control over content as more consumers look to YouTube, or Apple Inc.’s iTunes, for entertainment.

The two companies also enlisted three of Google’s largest rivals — Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc.’s AOL — as distributors of the entertainment on their Web sites.

While free to viewers, the site will be paid for by advertising and has already signed on marketers Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco Systems and General Motors.

Ready for this?

The venture includes a new Internet media player, which will be embedded on partner sites and carry branding of both, they said. The site apparently will not have a component for uploading home-made videos.

I guess NBC couldn’t buy something successful the way News Corp bought MySpace, so –

NBC said separately that it will introduce social networking and video sharing functions to NBC.com.

Feature length movies and TV shows without charge - and hopefully, less than obnoxious advertising, just might be a worthwhile addition to what’s easily available.

I’ll check my cynicism at least until I see the finished product.

Posted: Fri - March 23, 2007 at 06:51 AM