by Gavin O'Malley, Thursday, Jun 7, 2007 6:00 AM ET
NBC UNIVERSAL HAS PARTNERED WITH widget maker Clearspring Technologies to increase the spread of its content throughout the Web. Users will be able to personalize widgets--carrying NBC news, entertainment, and sports--and post them on their own blogs, social networking profiles, Web sites, and even wikis.
"Changes in the behavior of online users and innovation in technology have provided us with new opportunities to grow the reach for our content," explained Sab Kanaujia, vice president, digital product strategy and development for NBC Universal.
Initial launch widgets include popular content from "Dateline," "Hardball with Chris Matthews," "Meet the Press" and "NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams," as well as content from NBC Sports, DotComedy.com and iVillage.com. Available content will continue to expand, along with increased personalization options and enhanced features.
Clearspring is a promising startup attempting to usher in a new era of widget-dominated computing. Widgets are growing in popularity because their existence within a users' online experience is completely controlled by the users themselves--unlike pop-ups--and can be used to complement their social networking or blogging environment.
The Washington, DC-based Clearspring already serves a number of big clients, including CBS and the NBA. It just received a fresh round of funding from former AOL heavyweights Ted Leonsis, Steve Case and Miles Gilburne--along with Novak Biddle Venture Partners of Bethesda, MD--bringing its total financing to $7.5 million.
NBC's partnership with Clearspring comes at a time when media companies are waking up to the power of online video syndication. Leading the way in this field is rival network CBS, which recently established a broad Internet distribution platform for its programming through deals with 10 major companies, including AOL, Joost, Comcast, MSN, and Brightcove.
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