MTV comes to the rescue of Youtube...sorta, maybe. Reuters reports on MTV2 and Youtube joining forces to bring online music video content. And, no, there are no video links here, so I hope not to get the "[snip - no youtube links - luv4u ]"

MTV2 Embraces Battered Video-Sharing Site

Reuters

YouTube, a popular video-sharing Web site that was smacked around in recent weeks by CBS and NBC, is starting to make friends in the TV world.

The site has struck its first formal partnership to obtain copyrighted content with MTV2, a cable channel overseen by Viacom's MTV Networks, a representative confirmed.

YouTube has drawn sharp criticism from broadcasters for allowing its users to upload pirated programming from the airwaves without permission.

MTV2 is seeding YouTube with multiminute clips from a pair of series promoting new seasons and DVD releases this month: "The Andy Milonakis Show" and "Wonder Showzen." The Web site already is home to dozens of other clips drawn from the network but uploaded to YouTube without the network's consent.

MTV2 is listed atop the rankings of "today's featured videos" on the YouTube home page, along with a network logo identifying MTV2 as an "official partner."

The partnership comes amid increasing concerns that YouTube is becoming more of a virtual breeding ground for pirated video than a source of user-generated video. Last week, NBC Universal directed YouTube to remove hundreds of clips from the site, and CBS News did the same regarding one specific segment that became a popular YouTube attraction.

YouTube instituted a few changes to its site this week to make it a more corporate-friendly environment. Users seeking to upload material are now instructed to agree that they in fact own the content that they intend to distribute via YouTube, which the company hopes serves as a deterrent to copyright violators.

In addition, the upload process is now embedded with a "premium content provider program" that offers to co-brand any "professional" material.

For MTV2, the YouTube alliance is part of a broader effort to drum up interest in the new programming with various viral-video sites, including iFilm, which Viacom acquired last year.

I love YouTube but we all knew that this was inevitable. Now that this capability is here, and Flash 8 makes it much more affordable to share video this way, this kind of thing will go underground.

Now about adding links to YouTube: Is that not allowed here? Is the url allowed? (one that can be copy/pasted). That won't link back to this site, if that's the concern.

What about if we just added the search words, for example: "ratboy classic"? and let people search themselves? Is that o.k.?

I've been enjoying the YouTube site tremendously.Finally,there is a site that gives fans what they really want.

Surely youtube links to RIAA-sanctioned MTV2 content won't be snipped. Right?