Lycos signs major online ad deal with Blinkx engine

Lycos, the internet portal, has signed a major online advertising deal with video search engine Blinkx.

The partnership will offer Lycos’ 25 million users access to 5 million hours of video content, such as TV clips, music videos and video blogs, which are available through Blinkx.

The deal will see the two companies share revenue generated from advertising through banner ads and sponsored search links around the video search results. Blinkx founder and chief technical officer Suranga Chandratillake says that video advertising is expected to follow soon.

The new deal is part of Lycos’ strategy to expand its range of online services for broadband users.

The value of the joint venture has not been revealed, but it is the latest in a series of online ad deals as major websites try to increase their revenue from users through link-ups with search engines.

Recent deals include the $900m (&£474m) deal for Google to provide search and advertising on News Corporation-owned Myspace, and a similar deal struck between MSN and Faceparty.

YouTube is also moving into this area after announcing plans last week to offer branded channels for advertisers on its site. Warner Brothers is among the first to take advantage, with plans for a Paris Hilton channel promoting her album.