Google and MTV team up for online video syndication

Google and MTV have announced a deal that will see video content syndicated through selected partner sites.

Under the agreement Google will distribute ad-supported content from MTV to targeted website publishers.

Selected website owners will be able to host clips from MTV's archive, such as Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants and MTV's Laguna Beach.

This is the first time video has been added to Google's Adsense network, which allows publishers to carry targeted text and image ads.

"Collaborating with Google gives us a terrific opportunity to take our content and distribute it even more widely on the web in a seamless and targeted way," said Tom Freston, president and CEO, Viacom owner of MTV. "This deal fits in perfectly with our strategy to deliver the best content to our audiences – wherever they are."

"With the combination of our video technology, and extensive advertiser and publisher network, Google is in a leading position to help content owners, web publishers and advertisers generate interest and increase revenue opportunities, " said Eric Schmidt, Google's CEO.

David Card, VP & senior analyst at Jupiter Research, commented that the move made sense for Google.

"Syndicating video content along with the ads plays to Google's strengths," Card wrote on the Jupiter Research blog.