Bebo gives free access to TV and music

Youth social networking site Bebo will offer free content from major broadcasters - including the BBC - and record labels when it launches a series of media channels today.

The Open Media platform will also feature programmes from the BBC, ITN, Channel 4, BSkyB and Endemol in the UK, and CBS, Turner, MTV and ESPN in the US.

Programmes will Include Robin Hood and The Mighty Boosh.

Companies can embed their own media player on their Bebo channel, including their own advertising, and customise the page for their brand.

Following the launch at noon today in London and New York, additional media companies will be able to add their content through a "self-service" system.

Content will be free for Bebo's 40 million users to access, and content companies will receive 100% of revenues from in-video advertising - something that Bebo hopes will be a major incentive over similar offerings from rivals MySpace and Facebook.

Open Media also includes content from web-based services including music recommendation site Last.fm. user-content channel SumoTV and comedy site Crackle.

Evan Cohen, the Bebo director of strategy and operations, said the platform was not just an distribution tool, but an opportunity for media companies to exploit Bebo to cultivate the community around their brand.

Media content spreads virally, finding those "hard to reach" younger audiences who spend the majority of their time online.

Although media companies might prefer to build this community on their own site, said Cohen, "the reality is that they are not able to".

"There's a shift from that very possessive model of building up your own site to the super distributed mode - 'let's go where the audience is'," he added.

"This is a natural fit with younger audiences who see entertainment as a form of engagement and self-expression. Their life is about expression and defining who they are.

"The foundation of the site is communication but we want to build on top of that a compatible and powerful service of professional video and music that users can watch and put on their profiles."

I chose this article becuase i believe social networking is becoming so important in societ, in terms of interest and dangers. This just proves how popular it is and how many people go on it that tv and musicmoved moved into network to become part of the growth and target the young market.