Sausalito, Calif. - Sony Pictures Entertainment announced on Monday that it has re-launched its Grouper video-sharing site as Crackle, which will now focus on developing user-generated content for wider distribution.

Sony paid $65 million to acquire the Grouper video-sharing network last August.

The site's animation, short films and comedy channels will each award the best user-generated content, as chosen by its editors, with development deals such as pitch meetings with Sony Pictures Animation, Columbia Pictures and the IMPROV Comedy Lab, respectively.

"We reward the best video creators with Crackle funding, promotion, syndication and even greater exposure to our large media partners. Great content surfaced from our open studio model is the key to our success," said Crackle founder and co-president Josh Felser.

In addition to user-generated content, the streaming entertainment site will also offer original productions, such as the recently acquired "Mr. Deity" online comedy series.

Content on Crackle, which claims 25 million monthly unique visitors, will be further distributed on sites such as MySpace and AOL, and offered in a format compatible with the Sony PSP game device.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2ee3qv

http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUKN1630310020070716

http://www.sonypictures.com

http://www.crackle.com