It's hard to believe that this announcement is coming this early in the game, but Joost announced today that Viacom will offer a range of programming via the new Joost distribution platform. Under the agreement, Viacom's divisions -- MTV Networks, BET Networks and Paramount Pictures -- will provide television programming on the Joost platform. The programming will be offered at no cost to consumers.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal comes only weeks after Viacom pulled content from Google's YouTube due to their inability to reach a distribution agreement. Concern has been raising by a number of major media conglomerates over copyright claims with YouTube. In what seems as a direct response to these fears, Joost founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis continue to reiterate that Joost is a secure, efficient, piracy-proof Internet platform that guarantees copyright protection for content owners and creators.

Viacom President Philippe Dauman reiterated that reassurance when he said, "In addition to strong partnerships we have with traditional distributors, we will continue to seek out partners like Joost, which has created an exciting breakthrough platform that represents not only a fantastic user experience, but one that is built on a compelling and sustainable business model that respects both content creators and consumers."

Under this agreement, MTV will offer popular shows, both past and present, including Laguna Beach, Beavis & Butthead, Real World, Punk'd and My Super Sweet Sixteen, while Comedy Central will feature episodes from Stella, CCP's and Freak Show. Nickelodeon, CMT: Country Music Television, MTV2, Logo, Spike TV, mtvU, and Gametrailers.com will also provide content. VH1's offerings will include episodes of Flavor of Love, Surreal Life, and I Love New York. BET's Networks' offerings will include some of its biggest shows, including Beef, DMX: Soul of a Man, Comic View and recent smash hit American Gangster. Also, Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage and Paramount Classics will be providing full-length feature films from their catalog of classics and recent releases.

Janus Friis, founder of Joost said, "We built this platform from the ground up, with companies like Viacom in mind. Our platform provides scalable distribution, in a completely safe environment that protects the interest of content owners and advertisers, while delighting viewers. We're extremely excited about this partnership and look forward to enabling Viacom to reach new audiences for its new and classic programming."