Three of the Web's largest Internet portals--AOL, MSN and Yahoo--on Thursday announced that they will distribute video content for a new online joint venture of media conglomerates NBC Universal and News Corp. The new video network, scheduled to debut this summer, will feature full-length programming, movies and clips from at least a dozen television networks and two major film studios.
Such a partnership, which has been in the works since last summer, is unprecedented in the nascent online video market.
There's no question, say analysts, as to what prompted the media companies to unite. Now owned by Google, video-sharing site YouTube continues to thrive as the Web's only relevant video outlet. While YouTube is now focused almost exclusively on clips less than five minutes in length, some industry insiders wonder what could stop the San Bruno, Calif.-based operation from one day offering full-length TV shows and movies.
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