Hoping to bring some cohesion to a fragmented online video market, and profit from it, NBC Universal has created a company to syndicate video programming to websites.

The newly formed National Broadband Company - NBBC - will offer ad-supported content from NBC networks, local stations, and other video producers, reports the New York Times. The videos will come with pre-roll ads, the revenues from which will be shared among the video producer, the website publisher and NBBC, which is a joint venture between GE-controlled NBC Universal and NBC's affiliate stations.

Both Chase and Procter & Gamble have signed on to run pre-roll ads, reports AdWeek, quoting Jim Warner, EVP of Avenue A/Razorfish, which helped facilitate Chase's commitment: "They are increasing the amount of quality video inventory online. And they're making it easy to buy."

The idea for NBBC apparently germinated when a "Lazy Sunday" sketch from Saturday Night Live was posted on YouTube and went viral. "YouTube made a lot of money off it," Randy Falco, president of the NBC Universal television group, is quoted as having said. "In the future, when we have a Lazy Sunday clip, NBBC will make a lot of money on it."

NBC execs compared NBBC to television syndication. "In short, we are going back into the broadcast business on the Internet," Falco said.