MySpaceTV Signs the BBC

MySpaceTV is officially going global, with a new deal with BBC. The deal is the first of its kind for MySpaceTV, and it solidifies the increasing value of MySpace’s online video hub, which News Corp. is beginning to leverage for a variety of purposes; promotional, distributive and otherwise. See the channel here. Under the deal, current and archived video content from the BBC Worldwide programs will be made available on MySpaceTV. And unlike some of the other distribution partnerships we’ve seen come through MySpaceTV, the BBC’s branded channel actually looks good. You’d almost forget it’s MySpace.

So the question looming here is; what took so long? MySpaceTV has been around for some time, and the BBC hasn’t been too shy about lending some of its content up for distribution across other video-sharing networks, including YouTube, and more recently Vuze. Even after launching, to the dismay of some, its own platform for watching BBC content online, the European network does recognize the benefits taking advantage of some existing distribution hubs out there, MySpace being one of them.

It seems to be working for Hulu, which also offers its own platform for distributive purposes. Will this model truly shut down other promising players like Joost, or will the distribution methods of sending older content to the media-sharing networks while keeping the new stuff as a premium, centralized option soon see its own demise?