Online video service Veoh has added another broadcast network to its roster, this time in the form of ABC. As of today, selected ABC programming like Lost,Desperate Housewives, and Ugly Betty will be available via Veoh, along with game highlights and clips from cable network ESPN. Both ABC and ESPN are owned by Disney; terms of the deal were not released, but according to Veoh ABC is paying Veoh for visitors driven to its programs and material.
Veoh had previously inked a deal with broadcast network CBS; it also carries content from Viacom, including programming from cable channels including Comedy Central, MTV< Nickelodeon, and others. However, the implementation of Veoh’s deal with ABC is similar to ABC’s earlier agreement to make its content available via AOL: both AOL and Veoh link to ABC’s own video player, presumably to give ABC control over any pre-roll, post-roll, and interstitial advertising inserted into the programming.
The move slightly expands the availability of ABC programming online; other than the earlier deal with AOL, ABC has been notably absent from sites like Huhu, NSB, Joost, and social networking platforms like Bebo (now owned by AOL). ABC has been offering its content for sale online via Apple’s iTunes store; parent company Disney has been a stalwart backer of iTunes—hardly surprising given that Disney’s largest single shareholder is Steve Jobs, following Disney’s $7.4 billion acquisition of animation studio Pixar in early 2006. Former Disney hear Michael Eisner is one of Veoh’s primary investors.
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