YouTube Signs Three Content Deals

YouTube said it had signed content deals with three companies Monday, including one television network and two record labels. The new agreements come less than a month after the social video site penned an agreement with Warner Music Group to stream its content.

One of the companies YouTube came to terms with, Vivendi Universal, had apparently threatened to sue the site last month. However, it appears the two sides have put their differences aside, and the French-owned music label joined Sony BMG and the CBS television network in announcing the partnership Monday.

Google also announced content deals on Monday with Sony BMG and Warner Music, a sign that the music labels may be embracing the nascent video market rather than attempting to fight it in the courtroom like it did with P2P. Google is also rumored to be considering a $1.6 billion buyout of YouTube.

For CBS, the agreement means that a variety of short-form video content from the networks properties would make an appearance on the site. Entertainment content including scenes from "Survivor," "CSI," and "The Late Show with David Letterman" is included in the deal.

In addition, segments of CBS news, sports and Showtime shows would also appear on YouTube. The network would be the first to use YouTube's new copyrighted content identification features, allow it to decide on its own whether to keep or pull content from the site.

"We're pleased to be the first network to strike a major content deal with what is clearly one of the fastest growing new media platforms out there," CBS president Les Moonves said. "We're now able to offer select entertainment, news and sports programming to a new significant audience, get paid for it, and learn a few things along the way."

Much like the earlier Warner agreement, the two music label agreements with both Universal and Sony BMG call for the addition of music videos and related content to YouTube. Like CBS, both would gain access to the content management system to filter out unlicensed uploads.

Moreover, YouTube users would now be able to add the labels' content to their own uploads, which in turn would generate revenue for the record companies.

"As a new distribution channel for media companies, YouTube is committed to balancing the needs of the fan community with those of copyright holders to continue to provide the best video entertainment service on the Internet - one that promotes individuality, respect and originality," CEO and co-founder of YouTube Chad Hurley said.