CBS and Yahoo in Web video sharing deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - CBS Corp said on Wednesday it reached a deal to allow its Web videos to be carried by Yahoo Inc, part of a broader plan by the media company to add new outlets for its television shows.

The deal would have Yahoo join the CBS Audience Network, which already includes major outlets like Google Inc's YouTube, Time Warner Inc's AOL and Microsoft Corp's MSN, as well as sites like Joost, Veoh, and Bebo.

The Audience Network offers short-form clips from CBS, CSTV and Showtime, and before the inclusion of Yahoo reached nearly 90 percent of the Web. The clips are advertising-supported and free to consumers.

CBS has maintained that it prefers to make its content available in as many places as possible, unlike competitors such as NBC Universal, which has tighter restrictions on where its entertainment is distributed.

General Electric Co's NBC Universal and News Corp have teamed together to launch website Hulu, which carries a range of TV and movie clips.

So far, however, CBS has stopped short of joining that site, pursuing a host of other deals with its Audience Network.

(Reporting by Paul Thomasch, editing by Gerald E. McCormick and Dave Zimmerman)