NBC begins distributing content through Web widgets

Computerworld - NBC Universal Inc. Wednesday announced plans to make making some of its news, entertainment and sports television programming available as widgets that users can personalize and add to blogs, Web sites, wikis and social networking profiles.

NBC will be using content syndication and distribution tools from Clearspring Technologies Inc.

The program will initially provide users with access to widgets with content from its Dateline, Hardball with Chris Matthews, and the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams shows, NBC sports presentations and content from its iVillage.com unit. NBC said it will later boost personalization options and increase the amount of content available as widgets  -- small single-purpose applications that can run on the Web or on a desktop system.

"We want to create a fun, shared experience for our users and understand their needs as they interact with our content beyond our online properties," said Sab Kanaujia, vice president of digital product strategy and development at NBC Universal, in a statement.

"Changes in the behavior of online users and innovation in technology has provided us with new opportunities to grow the reach for our content and brands online."  Kanaujia added that the Clearspring content syndication and distribution platform "provides a robust distribution and analytics solution for our widgets initiative."

The move is the latest by a television network to tap into the growing popularity of Web 2.0 technologies and social networking.

For example, CBS Corp. last week announced plans to further build out its social networking presence by acquiring Last.fm Ltd., a social network for music fans. CBS also announced last month that its CBS Interactive unit has partnered with a slew of Web sites and social application vendors to allow their users to incorporate CBS clips into their personal profiles, Web sites, blogs, widgets and community pages.

News Corp. and NBC Universal in March announced  plans to jointly launch an online video Web site that will provide video content from more than a dozen TV networks and two film studios.

Read more about Web 2.0 and Web Apps in Computerworld's Web 2.0 and Web Apps Topic Center.