NBC, News Corp. Plan Video Site in challenge to YouTube

The Wall Street Journal reports
that General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal and News Corp. announced a
partnership to form an online-video site, a move by the media titans to
combat Google Inc.’s enormously popular YouTube. The companies said
Thursday the site, which will be free, is expected to launch this
summer and will carry full episodes and clips from hit shows such as
“Heroes,” “The Simpsons,” “24” and “My Name Is Earl.” It will also
feature movies, including “Borat.” Distribution partners for the online
content will include Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s MSN network and Time
Warner Inc.’s AOL unit. News Corp. and NBC said they’ve already lined
up several big advertisers for the site, including Cisco, Intel and
General Motors.