In a watershed development by established content owners designed to markedly advance Internet video, News Corp. and NBC Universal on Thursday announced plans for a summer launch of a free, ad-supported Web site featuring TV programs and movies.
The video-rich site will go head-to-head with Google-owned YouTube, which by comparison, relies heavily on user created video and is being sued by Viacom, Inc. for copyright violations for featuring video from its voluminous assets.
The new site will debut with thousands of hours of full-length programming, movies and clips, representing premium content from at least a dozen networks and two major film studios, according to the duo.
AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! will be the new site’s initial distribution partners, with their subscribers having unlimited access to the site’s vast library of content. Charter advertisers include Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors.
“This is a game changer for Internet video,” said Peter Chernin, president and COO of News Corp., in prepared comments. “We’ll have access to just about the entire U.S. Internet audience at launch. And for the first time, consumers will get what they want – professionally produced video delivered on the sites where they live.”
Jeff Zucker, president and CEO of NBC Universal said the venture “supercharges our distribution of protected, quality content to fans everywhere. Consumers get a hugely attractive aggregation of a wide range of content, and marketers get a novel way to connect with a large and highly engaged audience.”
At launch, users will be able to view full episodes and clips from current hit shows, including “Heroes,” “24,” “House,” “My Name Is Earl,” “Saturday Night Live,” and “The Simpsons,” and other hits from the studios’ vast television libraries.
The two said the site, at launch, will also feature personalized video playlists, mashups, online communities and video search. Plus, the extensive programming lineup will include fan favorite films like “Borat,” “Little Miss Sunshine” and “Devil Wears Prada,” with bonus materials and movie trailers. Post-launch, plans will be considered for acquiring additional content as well as producing and licensing original programming for the site’s audience.
“This new venture is further proof that the Internet is now a full-fledged entertainment medium, and we are delighted to serve as a major online distribution partner for the quality content produced by these media powerhouses, as well as a provider of strategic services to the new venture,” said Randy Falco, chairman and CEO of AOL.
Google www.google.com
NBC Universal www.nbc.com
News Corp. www.newscorp.com
YouTube www.youtube.com
