Viacom Announces its Partnership with Joost

Viacom Inc. a leading global entertainment company whos brands includes MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon announces its partnership with Joost (formerly known as The Venice Project), the world’s first broadcast-quality Internet television service. The move was said to have rooted after Viacom demanded that Google-owned YouTube remove more than 100,000 video clips after the two firms failed to reach a distribution deal.

The Joost partnership will give Viacom something it pressed with YouTube but never received, a share of advertising revenue. Neither company disclosed the terms of the agreement, but media experts said a 65-35 split in Viacom’s favor would be reasonable. Programs will have commercial breaks, but the number of commercials in each episode will be fewer than on regular network television.

" We’re extremely pleased to be working with Joost, and couldn’t be prouder to be a key partner in the launch of the next generation in broadband video technology. We have the number one portfolio of entertainment sites in the world and unrivaled distribution on mobile devices, but we’re determined to keep pushing and growing our digital presence and bring our programming to audiences on every platform and device that they want. In addition to strong partnerships we have with traditional distributors, we will continue to seek out partners like Joost, which has created an exciting breakthrough platform that represents not only a fantastic user experience, but one that is built on a compelling and sustainable business model that respects both content creators and consumers. " - Philippe Dauman, Viacom President and Chief Executive Officer

" We built this platform from the ground up, with companies like Viacom in mind. Our platform provides scalable distribution, in a completely safe environment that protects the interest of content owners and advertisers, while delighting viewers. We’re extremely excited about this partnership and look forward to enabling Viacom to reach new audiences for its new and classic programming. " - Janus Friis, founder of Joost

The new deal will enable Viacom to recapture viewers who had been going to YouTube without Viacom's blessing to watch content such as Jon Stewart's "Daily Show" and MTV's "Pimp My Ride". Meanwhile Viacom also plans to let people post almost any video from MTV-owned websites on their own blogs and sites.

Joost will allow users to have free access to thousands of programs and channels not readily available on the Web. Through Joost, viewers can watch programming from many of Viacom’s brands on their computers through a customizable platform with advanced television viewing features such as links that lead to more information or related websites based on the content; and a variety of plug-in applications, such as instant messaging, message boards, and news tickers.