Viacom to Monetize Archived TV/Film through Joost

Continuing its forceful push to boost its presence in the online video sphere, Viacom has announced a deal with the soon-to-launch video site Joost. Viacom hasn't shared much by way of detail; however, I did speak with VP Corporate Communications Jeremy Zweig who said "several hundred hours of [Viacom] TV and movie content" will be up on Joost when it goes live, possibly next month.

"It's not a trial; it's the real thing," Zweig told me earlier today. "It's another aspect to our digital strategy."

Unlike Viacom's own online properties, Joost will feature full-length television shows and flicks. "It's really designed for long-form content as opposed to clips," he added. "For us that means we can monetize a lot of our archive material that we haven't been able to do on an ad-supported basis."

As for the ads, the revenue share structure has not been disclosed. Viacom will most likely sell the ads seen on Joost, that way the firm "would be able to sell multiplatform" ad packages, said Zweig.