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NEW YORK -- In a further reach for online video, Google Inc. will begin distributing clips from MTV Networks' shows to other Web sites through its budding video service in a model that offers content creators a new source of distribution and revenue.
The deal, announced Sunday, will begin as a test later this month, offering 100 hours of programming from clips of "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County," "SpongeBob SquarePants" and MTV's Video Music Awards. The partnership will expand video through Google's advertising network to a variety of sites and is likely to spawn further such deals.
Video has become one of the fastest-growing formats online as new delivery mechanisms, faster computers and wider broadband adoption make the medium more accessible to a broader audience.
Officials declined to say how the revenue would be appropriated, citing confidential terms of the deal. Viacom will receive more than two-thirds of the revenue from the ad deal, the New York Times reported online Sunday, citing an unnamed executive involved in the deal.
Viacom spokespeople said it was not yet clear how many sites in Google's network would be selected for the partnership's test phase.
The companies also will sell episodes from 17 Viacom Inc. programs for $1.99 each through Google Video. MTV also sells its programs through Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store for the same price.
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