Ben Reid
17 Mar 2007 11:32
Media giant CBS has announced that it has sealed a deal with Google Inc.-owned YouTube. The pairing will create a brand new web channel which will feature clips and highlights from the annual "March Madness" NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) basketball tournament.
The deal comes as somewhat of a surprise, in light of CBS' former sister company Viacom's recent copyright infringement litigation against Google and Youtube, and considering original talks between YouTube and CBS appeared to break down last month.
The line-up will include clips of the tournament as well as other aspects such as press conferences, interviews and highlights. The service will be free, however it will be ad-supported and include links to other CBS and NCAA Web pages.
According to YouTube, the new service will allow game clips to be uploaded to the site in near-real-time so users can view, comment, rate, recommend & post their own video responses.
CBS' main goal, said Quincy Smith, the company's President, is to try and reach out to -- rather than try to discourage -- YouTube's audience. "Above all the other good news, what's most exciting here is the extent to which CBS is learning about its audience as never before," he said. "Professional content seeds YouTube and allows an open dialog between established media players and a new set of viewers."
Source:
TechNewsWorld