EveryZing will also be deploying its universal search and publishing solutions across a number of NBCU’s Internet properties. The goal is to improve the video search experience for some major media sites.

CNBC would be one such site. "EveryZing’s core technology advantage and robust product offerings will assist us in taking full advantage of the content across many NBCU brands, ultimately enhancing the audience experience,” said Scott Drake, VP of CNBC Digital. "For example, CNBC’s users and viewers will be able to jump to the exact mention of their favorite guest, company or topic within the video and quickly consume the content most relevant to them."

It would not be surprising to start seeing more partnerships like the one NBCU has created with EveryZing as online video continues to take off in popularity and becomes a more important element to the web in general.

"The consumption and demand for online video continues to explode," explains EveryZing CEO Tom Wilde. "As such, media companies must continue to fully leverage their unique content assets in order to extend and enhance their business models. We are thrilled with this opportunity to have NBCU as a customer and Peacock as an investor."

The deal also brings to mind the importance for any business offering online video content to make their libraries easily navigable so usable. Ease of use and finding what they are looking for quickly are two elements that will keep users coming back. It’s something that should not go overlooked if you don’t want to get lost in an ever-growing sea of online video content.

"These sites are a departure from what we’ve done in the past and the next step in our mission to provide truly relevant local content to consumers on the media platform of their choice," said John Wallace, President, NBC Local Media. "Our goal was to create a new type of user experience that’s less an extension of our TV stations and more of an online destination for the latest local news, information and entertainment. These sites are about putting consumers first and giving them the content they’re looking for from the best available sources."

NBC Universal is really diving deep into the online pool these days between its stake in Hulu (even offering premieres of shows before they aired on tv), its online Olympics coverage, starting a new online Saturday Night Live video site, and now this effort to bolster the company’s presence in local areas with exclusive local content from not only local NBC stations, but from outside bloggers and consumers as well.

Small businessses should take note of this project to keep an eye out for potential ways to reach local audiences. This is perhaps the most important market to a small business, possibly containing their best customers, as I talked about here. In fact, Mike Sachoff pointed to a study earlier this year indicating the importance of local media to advertisers:

Trust is a major factor that creates advertising success, and consumers express significant loyalty in advertising on local sites. Newspaper sites lead the way, with 56 percent of visitors indicating they trust the advertising found on local sites, followed by TV sites and portals.

Local magazine, newspaper and TV sites attract solid percentages (48%, 40% and 39%, respectively) of people who spent more than $500 online in the past year.

When you start talking about opening up a site to the community as NBC is, you open the door to new ways of marketing to a local audience as well. There’s going to be a local social aspect that isn’t necessarily always present with local television sites today. 

They’ve begun to roll out different city versions starting today with Chicago. This will continue throughout the month with Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Dallas, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Hartford named so far.

This is not Google’s first foray into television advertising, though it is a first as far as specific channels. The Wall Street Journal reports:

Google sells a relatively small amount of ad inventory for Dish Network Corp. But it couldn’t reach an agreement with DirecTV Group Inc., the country’s largest satellite operator by number of subscribers, because the two couldn’t agree on the terms of a deal, according to a person familiar with the matter. Google also has approached Verizon Communications Inc., but those talks are in very early stages and there are no signs that any agreement will be reached, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Google has really been amping up its advertising businesses lately, and while that may not spell great news for ad agencies, it should be great for advertisers. It should be especially great for small businesses. According to Arnold Zafra at Search Engine Journal, "Google and NBC have also agreed to make the Google TV Ads platform tailored-fit for the local markets covered by NBC Cable."

As Google itself explains on its TV Ads page, "Using the familiar AdWords interface, you can launch a TV advertising campaign in minutes." Local businesses should be able to really take advantage of this, especially if NBCU and Google decide to expand the amount of channels in the deal.

 For now, channels that will offer ad time include MSNBC, CNBC, Sci-Fi, Oxygen, Sleuth, and Chiller, but the companies said more may be added later. What if NBC (the channel) got thrown into the mix? The financial terms of NBCU’s deal with Google have not been made public, but I would imagine that both parties will get their money’s worth.

Unlike the clips of TV shows and movies that show up on YouTube, Hulu will run full versions of that programming. Hulu also won’t have the problems associated with copyrighted content showing up without permission, since it’s the content owners programming the site.

So far the early look has generated positive reviews. An AP report cited Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey, who said, “The technology they’ve put together on this short notice is not only adequate, it’s also better than most of what else is out there.”

For those who don’t have access to Hulu yet, and want to see some of their content, TechCrunch noted AOL Video has a number of Hulu shows on its site.

AOL is one of five distribution partners lined up to show Hulu videos, the New York Times said. Microsoft, MySpace, Yahoo, and Comcast join AOL on that list.

There won’t be user generated content on Hulu, which separates it from the more freewheeling YouTube and its many imitators. We have to wonder if Hulu really matters for TV fans, who probably have TiVo recording their favorite shows for repeated viewing, and watching them on a bigger screen too.

In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in Raleigh, NC, Lulu alleges that Hulu intentionally attempted to create confusion in the marketplace through Hulu’s name and Internet domain announcements.

The suit also alleges that Hulu’s trademark filing identifies products and services which are related to and identical to the services that Lulu provides under its Lulu marks.

"We have spent more than five years and tens of millions of dollars in investment successfully building the Lulu brand and website into a place for millions of creators and consumers to publish, buy, sell and manage digital content," said Lulu CEO Bob Young.

"It is clear we are required to move quickly to protect our intellectual property and defend ourselves against this infringement before it significantly damages our business."

Here’s the way it works: Everybody (and they mean everybody) steals movies via downloads; nobody goes to the movies any more; nobody buys popcorn; corn farmers have nobody to sell popcorn to, lose money; corn farmers stop buying farm equipment; everybody on God’s green Earth suffers.

I added the last part, but it’s not much of a stretch compared to the caterwauling coming out of that filing. Okay, okay, fine. I’ll put in what it actually says:

“Because of our nation’s interlocking economy, two-thirds of the lost earnings and lost jobs are in industries other than motion picture production. For example, in the absence of movie piracy, video retailers would sell and rent more titles. Movie theatres would sell more tickets and popcorn. Corn growers would earn greater profits and buy more farm equipment.”

And, if a frog had wings he wouldn’t bump his butt when he jumped.

NBC’s argument followed a plea for the broadband service providers to be able to "use readily available means to prevent the use of their broadband capacity to transfer pirated content."

By "readily available means," they mean technology used to spy on what’s being transferred, according PublicKnowledge.org’s Art Brodsky, a blatant violation of civil rights, especially in the Big Brother era we are entering.

But the FCC doesn’t like to regulate right? Especially when it comes to the Internet, right? Well, that depends on who’s asking. If you, the citizen, ask, regulation’s no good. If the telecommunications, cable, or entertainment industry (except where otherwise stipulated by the Parents Television Council) asks, it’s a very good possibility.

Besides, just look at the numbers NBC produced: 60-70% of Internet traffic are P2P transfers generated from less than 5% of users; 90% of the transfers are "in knowing and flagrant violation of our nation’s copyright laws."

That’s weird. Could have sworn P2P made up just a third of Internet traffic. It must have really spiked in the past week. Or maybe they got those numbers from the same source that told them the nation’s poor ol’ corn farmers suffer the most from piracy.

Wait. Brodsky says that’s not true either. Visit his post at Public Knowledge to learn the real numbers on popcorn production and consumption. And if you ever wondered why some kernels refuse to pop, there’s an answer for that as well. 

The new partners include Fuel TV, Oxygen, Speed, Sundance Channel and TV Guide. Other partners already onboard are AOL, MSN, MySpace, Yahoo, Comcast and CNET.

"Each of our new content partners has a reputation for creating premium entertainment experiences designed to fulfill television viewers’ more eclectic needs," said George Kliavkoff, chief digital officer, NBC Universal and interim CEO of the joint venture.

"We are delighted they have all agreed to contribute their compelling content to our venture, which will help ensure our ability to satisfy the more personalized demands of the growing number of Web video consumers."

The Sundance Channel programming will carry full-length original series, webisodes, short films and content filmed specifically for the Web.

Larry Aidem, Sundance Channel’s president and CEO noted, "Sundance Channel’s participation in this new News Corp./NBCU joint venture underscores our strategy and efforts to expand the reach of Sundance Channel content beyond the linear network to a thriving audience seeking our content across multiple platforms."