• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, November 29, 2006

In a move likely to spur the growth of mobile video, YouTube will allow subscribers of Verizon Wireless' V Cast media service to view a selection of videos on their mobile phones starting in early December.

The deal marks YouTube's first major agreement with a wireless carrier and gives Verizon at least a temporary advantage over its competitors in trying to lure customers to sign up for lucrative data services. To get the YouTube content, for instance, consumers have to subscribe to the V Cast service for $15 a month, or $3 a day.

"This service offers our community and Verizon Wireless subscribers a new opportunity to connect and engage with their favorite videos," said Steve Chen, chief technology officer and co-founder of YouTube, in a statement. "We will continue to roll out more exciting partnerships and features for the mobile user over the coming year."

Verizon will have exclusive rights to the YouTube videos for an unspecified period. That arrangement leaves the door open for YouTube to strike similar partnerships in the future with other big wireless carriers including Sprint, Cingular and T-Mobile USA. YouTube's content on Verizon won't be supported by any type of advertising, since V Cast is an "advertising-free zone," according to a Verizon spokesman.