Coming soon "YouTube killer" wins $100 million in funding

News Corp and NBC venture bags tons of cash for Autumn launch

10 August 2007 19:10 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

The new video website venture from News Corp and NBC, said to be a potential "YouTube killer" has landed some impressive funding.

The not-yet-named site (but we bet they've got some major marketing minds brainstorming right now) known only as project "New Site" has received $100 million from venture capitalists Providence Equity Partners.

The firm behind the funding will apparently get a 10% stake in the company, which means it's been valued at one billion dollars.

This should give you an idea of just how big this project is, and could be. That valuation is for an unnamed, unlaunched, unproven and unannounced premise.

The plans for the site are that it will show both full episodes and clips from television shows - available free of charge - but advertising supported.

Films will apparently also be shown, although it is not confirmed at this stage if they are to be free too.

Earlier this year News Corp president Peter Chernin commented on the site:

"This is a game changer for internet video. We’ll have access to just about the entire US internet audience at launch."

Cadbury Schweppes, Cisco, Esurance, Intel and General Motors already reportedly already signed up for advertising deals while Yahoo, MSN, AOL and MySpace have agreed to be distribution partners.

The combined clout of these internet heavyweights, no doubt very keen to challenge the Google/YouTube web presence, will mean a reach of 96% of American internet users.

This recent funding will apparently be ploughed into developing the site's technology. Although initially rumoured for a release in the summer, the "New Site" is now expected to debut in the Autumn.