News Corp. and NBC Universal joined forces with several major Internet companies to distribute TV shows, video clips and movies online in an effort to better control their programming and counter competition from YouTube, an Associated Press report said.
The Associated Press report said the new network, which would launch this summer, comes in response to the explosive growth Google's YouTube, a do-it-yourself video-sharing site that is being sued by Viacom, another major media company, for copyright infringement.
The venture is aimed at giving broadcasting companies like NBC and News Corp., which owns the Fox broadcast network and the Twentieth Century Fox movie and TV studio, greater control over how their shows are distributed on the Internet, the report said.NBC, a unit of General Electric, also owns the Universal film studio and several cable channels including Bravo, the report added.