[opendtv] News: Viacom Deal Will Allow Its TV Clips on Internet
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 07:19:25 -0500
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/21/business/media/21viacom.html?th&emc=th
Viacom Deal Will Allow Its TV Clips on Internet
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: February 21, 2007
Fear not, MTV fans. Episodes of "Laguna Beach" and "The Real World"
will soon be back on the Internet, free of charge. But this time,
viewing is on Viacom's terms.
Viacom, the parent of networks like MTV and Comedy Central, which
produce the types of programs that are ideal for watching on the Web,
said yesterday that it had reached a deal with the Silicon Valley
start-up Joost to distribute video online.
The agreement came a little more than two weeks after Viacom demanded
that YouTube remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming.
The Joost partnership gives Viacom something it pressed with YouTube
but never received: a share of advertising revenue. Neither company
disclosed the terms of the agreement, but media experts said a 65-35
split in Viacom's favor would be reasonable.
Programs will have commercial breaks, but the number of commercials
in each episode will be fewer than on regular network television.
The Joost deal also provides a level of control for Viacom that it
lacked with YouTube. Joost will not allow users to upload any of
their own content.
Unlike YouTube, which streams clips from network television shows
that users have uploaded themselves, Joost will offer only videos
that its business partners like Viacom have provided.
Philippe P. Dauman, Viacom's chief executive, said in an interview
that Joost would allow Viacom to distribute its programming "on every
platform, everywhere around the world in a way that protects our
content while at the same time accomplishing our business objectives."
Joost said it planned to be available to consumers around the world
by the summer. The service will require users to download software
that will allow them to view videos from Joost. About 20,000 people
are now taking part in a test of the program.
The basic idea behind Joost is to get as close to possible to
replicating the television viewing experience on a personal computer,
said Yvette Alberdingkthijm, the company's executive vice president
for content strategy and acquisition.
"It's full-screen, high-quality, full-length episodes," she said.
"You can sit back and flip through it like you would with a TV."
Among the Viacom networks that will provide programming to Joost are
MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike TV, Logo and BET. Paramount Pictures,
another division of Viacom, will provide full-length movies.
Apart from the Viacom offerings, programs from the National
Geographic channel and music from the Warner Music catalog will be
available. Ms. Alberdingkthijm said Joost was negotiating with other
media companies to acquire content.
For its part, Viacom did not rule out making its content available to
other online video services, including YouTube. That is, of course,
if it can reach favorable licensing agreements.
"We have never been averse to entering into transactions with anyone
who will respect the value of copyright," Mr. Dauman said. "We're
always open to partners."
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