NBC and Fox plan rival YouTube

Culver City (CA) - Television networks NBC Universal and Fox are to combine their TV shows into a single online video site which will counter the popularity of video-sharing sites such as YouTube.

This move, which follows a $1 billion lawsuit against YouTube by Viacom for copyright infringement, is part of an industry wide reaction to the popularity of sites such as YouTube in disseminating TV and movie content over the internet. The firms are not unhappy to see their promo's featured on the internet, but they would like greater control over how they are presented to consumers.

Hit TV shows such as 24 and Heroes will be featured on the new site, and the promos and site surrounding the video player itself will contain further advertising for shows being promoted by the networks.