Reuters has signed its largest ever UK media agreement with Vizzavi - the European multi-access Internet portal from Vodafone and Vivendi Universal. The agreement calls for Reuters to supply its multimedia news and financial data for Vizzavi to use on its Web and wireless platforms.
Reuters has been contracted to deliver its entire portfolio of European Online Reports to Vizzavi, covering top national and international news, sports, entertainment and business news plus 'Odds', its quirky news round up report. In addition, Reuters is to provide access to its archive of over 500,000 photographs and supply financial news and data covering European and US markets.
Reuters says it will supply content in NewsML - the new industry standard for online news delivery. Reuters online editorial teams will prioritise breaking news stories in a top ten format in seven different languages, linked where appropriate to pictures and graphics, for onward distribution to Vizzavi customers across Europe.
Established in July 2000, Vizzavi currently operates in the UK, France and the Netherlands. It plans to have eight countries operational by 2002.
Mark Trasenster, managing director, Reuters Media UK & Ireland, says the deal "positions us firmly within the consumer space".
In a seperate announcement, Reuters today launched an Internet news publication for Italian speaking audiences throughout the world. It is the eleventh local language online report launched by the company to date.