• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, August 2, 2007

MeeVee is rapidly morphing from online TV guide to a video hub in its own right. In June the startup unveiled a new media player, separate from its TV listings service, to better showcase the broader range of content it now offers through a recent spate of distribution deals.

The month before, MeeVee signed deals with more than a dozen media companies, including Atom Films, Brightcove, ESPN, Fox and iFilm. It also became part of the CBS Audience Network, CBS' new venture to syndicate its programming through a variety of Web 2.0 outlets.

The agreements encompass both full-length episodes and clips, depending on the provider. MeeVee CEO Michael Raneri says major content providers have realized they can draw bigger audiences online by syndicating shows widely, rather than creating their own destination sites. "They're almost creating a line-up of shows and syndicating them to distribution partners like ourselves," he says.

The networks still want to keep tight control of their video streams, however. Under the CBS deal, for instance, MeeVee is only allowed to sell advertising such as companion banners around clips, while CBS will handle sales of the in-stream ads. MeeVee only takes 10 percent of the video ad dollars.

By syndicating more content, MeeVee aims to generate more ad revenue. The company recently retrenched, cutting back from 34 to 27 employees, mainly in sales and marketing. Raneri says MeeVee can operate more efficiently by outsourcing those functions while shifting more resources to research and development.