Thirteen Belo TV sites have become the exclusive video provider to Yahoo News in their respective markets (see an example here). Belo joins with the CBS O&Os, bringing Yahoo’s total to 18 of the top 25 markets with local TV video partners. Press release follows below. (Full disclosure: I work for a Belo station that is part of this deal.)
PRESS RELEASE — Belo Corp. (NYSE: BLC) and Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) today announced an agreement that designates 13 of Belo’s television stations as the exclusive provider of local news video to Yahoo! News in their respective markets. Yahoo! will host dozens of local news video clips each day, provided by Belo’s television stations, which will run within the local news pages of Yahoo! News. Local news video will also be available to all Yahoo! users when major news breaks in local markets.
“Video usage is one of the fastest growing areas in the online space and Belo’s television stations and Web sites produce some of the most compelling video in their respective markets. Given Yahoo!’s leadership in online news, this partnership is yet another way for both companies to offer users a richer online experience while jointly creating business models which recognize that value,” said Dunia A. Shive, president and Chief Operating Officer of Belo Corp.
The video partnership between Yahoo! News and Belo’s television Web sites adds to the previously announced agreements between Yahoo! and Belo’s newspaper Web sites. The companies will share advertising revenue generated from the video clips under the new agreement, which encompasses all Belo television markets except Dallas and Boise, including:
Austin
Charlotte
Hampton/Norfolk
Houston
Louisville
New Orleans
Phoenix
Portland
San Antonio
Seattle/Tacoma
Spokane
St. Louis
Tucson
“For many consumers visiting Yahoo! News, there’s nothing more relevant than local updates. The addition of local news video from 13 new markets is a huge win for the people who have made Yahoo! News the number one news site on the Internet,” said Alan Warms, vice president and general manager of Yahoo! News. “Given the surge in demand for online video on Yahoo! News, and across the Internet, this deal with Belo’s television stations makes a lot of sense for our users.”
The addition of Belo news video expands the local news TV coverage on Yahoo! News, to now include local news video in 18 of the top 25 markets in the country. Belo’s television stations and associated Web sites are among the most viewed on-air and online in their respective markets, operating the first or second ranked television station and television Web site in 11 of the markets covered under this agreement.
The current partnership between Yahoo! and Belo began in 2005 with a job posting distribution agreement between Belo’s newspapers and Yahoo! HotJobs. Over the years, the two companies have discussed other ways of working together, including distribution of Belo news video, which has culminated with today’s announcement. Yahoo! and Belo also partner as part of a larger newspaper consortium that involves Yahoo! and 22 newspaper publishing companies representing about 550 daily and weekly newspapers. That partnership encompasses graphical advertising technology, cross-selling online advertising inventory, content distribution, and search.