• The Wall Street Journal (by subscription), Wednesday, February 21, 2007 10:45 AM

YouTube, which had been close to closing a multiyear deal with CBS Corp., looks to have lost out on what would have been a broad-ranging deal.

The companies were in talks that would let YouTube license its content in exchange for providing ad revenue from both the video Web site and CBS Corp.'s broadcast radio division. Talks broke down in part because the firms could not reach an agreement on issues such as how long the deal would run. However, they said the talks could be revived at a later date. For now, the report says Google and CBS will work only on "more modest initiatives."

Separately, Google is also said to be working on a deal to offer video from the British Broadcasting Corp., according to other unnamed sources. Meanwhile, Viacom, which requested that its content be pulled from the online video site, News Corp., and GE's NBC Universal continue to discuss the idea of launching an online video competitor to YouTube, but sources say those plans have hit the skids due to differing interests.

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