Yahoo! is adding daily feeds from CNN.com and ABC News to augment the video news it already offers from The Associated Press and Reuters.
The move comes barely two weeks after AP announced its own plans to launch an online video news network in the third quarter. AP plans to contract with an as yet unnamed third party company to sell ads into the network on a national basis. The plan is aimed at helping its members — mainly newspaper publishers — to compete in the online video news realm, Ad Age reported. The Yahoo! deals are important for CNN and ABC News, which are both trying to expand their news audience reach online. Within the last 12 months video has become one of the key battlegrounds for media companies seeking to establish themselves solidly in a potentially lucrative new area of online audience interest and advertising.
CBS News recently announced a total revamp of its news site offering round-the-clock online reporting and broadband video reports. CNN also increased the amount of free news video is offers from its Web site. Marketers meanwhile are showing increasing interest in the potential of TV-like commercials inserted into broadband video news programming. The new Yahoo video feeds from CNN.com and ABC News will be advertiser supported.
