Bertelsmann in new internet venture

Bertelsmann is linking its content with leading media brands

Europe's biggest media company, Bertelsmann, on Monday said it had agreed a European joint venture with iSyndicate of the US to market content over the internet.

In a statement, Bertelsmann said the venture would combine its global media content with its US partner's independent content providers on a common internet platform.

"The joint venture is an important step towards strengthening our position in the content sector," Bertelsmann chief creative officer Rolf Schmidt-Holz said.

"We want to ensure that Bertelsmann's diverse content is available wherever the customer wishes and expects to find it...In iSyndicate we have found the ideal partner to expand our syndication business Europe-wide."

Open invitation

Mr Schmidt-Holz said the system would be open to all content providers who had been invited to "put their content to work through this platform."

The 50:50 venture - to be known as iSyndicate Europe - will be based in Hamburg, Germany and have a chief executive supplied by Bertelsmann.

The deal will also entail the acquisition by Bertelsmann of a 4% stake in the San Francisco-based iSyndicate.

ISyndicate delivers real-time audio, video, interactive games, comics and weather from more than 1,100 sources including The Associated Press, CNBC and Reuters. It has more than 270,000 customers.