Vevo widens ties with Yahoo over its music videos

[April 15, 2014]  (Reuters) — Yahoo Inc and Vevo, an online music video hub that provides some of the most popular content on Google's YouTube, have expanded their content and regional partnership, Vevo said Monday amid mounting competition for online viewers.

The deal brings Vevo's music videos, live concert events and other original music programming to Yahoo's video channel, Yahoo Screen, in the United States and Canada.

In coming weeks, the partnership will extend to Britain, Germany, Spain, France and Italy as well as the Yahoo Screen mobile app, the statement said. (http://r.reuters.com/cyj58v)

Vevo's videos have been featuring on Yahoo Music since 2012.

The reworked deal with Vevo highlights Yahoo Chief Executive Marissa Mayer's strategy to increase video views as she tries to increase the time users spend on its websites.

Online video commands higher ad rates than other types of Web content and has become a competitive arena as it is increasingly viewed as a bulwark against the steady decline in prices for online display ads.

Vevo, which is a joint venture of Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, also has Google Inc as a minority stakeholder.

Universal Music is owned by Vivendi SA and Sony Music is a unit of Sony Corp.

(Reporting by Sampad Patnaik in Bangalore; editing by Eric Walsh and Ken Wills)

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