NBC, MySpace partner up to compete with YouTube
The titans of the Internet will face off this summer when NBC Universal and News Corp. partner up to launch a new video-sharing site to compete with Google's YouTube, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Free videos will be available on AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo, shortly after they appear on television networks.
"On launch, this will be the largest advertising platform on earth," said Peter Chernin, president of News Corp.
Going after Google will be a tough sell, but the partnership will reach 96 percent of the market.
In October of last year, Google bought YouTube for $1.65 billion with the video proclamation, "the king of video and the king of search" had gotten together.
But Hollwood is anxious to get a piece of the online video action, and is working hard on how to build up an Internet audience. The strategy is to give access to premium content shortly after broadcast. Shows such as, "Saturday Night Live," "The Simpsons," "Prison Break" and "Top Chef," as well as movies including "Borat," "Little Miss Sunshine" would be available.
Why not just make a deal with YouTube? The decision to compete with YouTube arose from frustrations with YouTube's failure to keep unauthorized clips of copyrighted programs off its site.