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NBC launches venture for online video
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The new venture will be called the National Broadband Company or "nbbc" — a play on NBC's original name, the National Broadcasting Co. But the name is not likely to be widely seen by consumers because the venture will simply supply the video and ads to participating sites, such as NBC's New York affiliate WNBC.
NBC got a taste of the power of online video distribution several months ago when "Lazy Sunday," a satirical rap video that had aired on "Saturday Night Live," became a huge hit online, but initially through YouTube and other video-sharing sites.
"In the future, when you have a 'Lazy Sunday' kind of clip, it will end up here and we'll make a lot of money from it," said Randy Falco, chief operating officer of the NBC Universal Television Group.
A number of parties are participating in the network at its launch, including some owned by other media outlets: CBS Corp.’s CSTV; News Corp.’s IGN Entertainment; A&E and The History Channel, which are co-owned by NBC, Hearst Corp. and The Walt Disney Co.; and About.com, which is owned by The New York Times Co.
Mike Steib, who will run the venture, said that nbbc would be a "completely agnostic marketplace," and open to anyone interested in joining, including YouTube. A YouTube representative didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. NBC has already said it would provide promotional clips to YouTube for its fall television lineup.
Steib said the venture would focus initially on short video clips of a few minutes in length, but would be open to showing longer shows if there is a demand for it.
"This is a little bit of launch and learn," Falco said. "We're going to find out in the next couple of months what the market is looking for."
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