(18 April 2007 5:00 pm)

MUMBAI: Media firm Comcast has annoauncd a deal with News Corp and NBC Universal.

The distribution agreement sees Comcast's Comcast.net and Fancast.com serving as distribution sites for News Corp and NBCU's recently announced online video venture. Under the agreement, Comcast will also provide available non-exclusive content for domestic distribution on NBCU and News Corp's site from Comcast Networks, including E!, Style, G4, Versus and Golf Channel and will become the venture's first non-equity content provider.

In addition, the companies announced the new online video venture will utilise media management and video distribution technology from the Platform, a Comcast subsidiary and a leading provider of broadband and mobile video publishing solutions.

News Corp president and COO Peter Chernin says, "We are delighted that the nation's largest cable provider will be a major player in this new venture. News Corp. and NBC have long histories with Comcast and we're committed to expanding our relationship in this new media universe. We believe there is a wealth of opportunities to exploit broadband distribution to benefit both our businesses."

NBC Universal president and CEO Jeff Zucker says, "We are very excited by the positive response our new venture with News Corp. has generated. Comcast's participation is yet another affirmation of our strategy to place top-quality, protected content in as many places as possible."

Comcast COO Steve Burke says, "We are pleased to have the best of NBC and Fox's TV content available to our customers on Comcast.net and Fancast.com. Making TV content available on multiple devices will enable our customers to view their favorite shows on television, online and on video-on-demand."

Distribution across Comcast sites will include Comcast.net, and Fancast.com, a new entertainment site launching this summer that will enable users to view video as well as search, discover and manage both TV and movie content.

NBC Universal and News Corp's recently-announced video site will launch in the summer with thousands of hours of full-length TV programming, clips and movies, representing premium content from more than a dozen networks and two major film studios. The new venture's content will be distributed via some of the most-popular sites on the Web, including AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo. The aim is to offer an alternative to Youtube.