Ben Silverman's Electus signs deal with Yahoo

BANGALORE, INDIA: Former NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman's Electus production house will develop and produce content for Yahoo Inc in a deal that will likely be announced later on Friday, the New York Times said on its website.

Silverman, without specifying the kind of programs he would create for Yahoo, told the paper in an interview that he saw "opportunities for episodic storytelling," which include "more direct relationships" with advertisers.

Yahoo, which will be Electus' first distributor, is looking to meet demands from advertisers for more online video inventory, the paper cited Joanne Bradford, Yahoo's senior vice president for North America revenue and market development, as saying.

"We really feel like Ben has proven that he can come up with great content," Bradford told the paper.

Electus and Yahoo could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters outside regular U.S. business hours.

Silverman left NBC last year to form Electus with Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp.