For those who missed the “Laguna Beach” and “The Real World” episodes on the Internet, here is happy news: The shows are back on the Internet … but not on YouTube! The shows are now on Joost - a company that is touted as the rival to YouTube - and will be uploaded on Viacom’s terms.

After having differences of opinion with YouTube over the legal issues about uploading video on the Internet, Viacom has decided to join hands with the Silicon Valley start-up, Joost, to host its videos. Since Viacom owns channels like MTV and Comedy Central, which are primarily watched by young people, this move is being viewed as a smart one. Since the younger generation is more inclined to share videos online, Joost has found just the right partner to start its venture.

The agreement comes after two weeks of Viacom making demands to YouTube that the company remove more than 100,000 clips of its programming from its site. Apart from the legality of the videos hosted on YouTube, Viacom also demanded a share in the revenue YouTube generated from showing the videos - but never got it.

With this new agreement, Viacom will finally get what it asked for. Although neither company disclosed the actual advertising sharing revenue, it is rumored that a 65-35 split in Viacom’s favor will be reasonable, as Viacom is the content owner. The commercials that will be aired in the breaks of the episodes will be fewer than those shown on TV. Apart from this, Joost will not allow users to upload their own content, unlike its famed competitor. The company will offer content through its partners like Viacom.

Currently, YouTube allows its users to upload video clips that they have captured.

Joost is currently testing its software with about 10,000 users and it plans to make the software available to consumers around the world by the summer. Users who want to watch videos hosted on Joost can download this software to their computers. Joost plans to provide full-screen, high-quality, full-length episodes on the Internet - and plans to bring the video viewing experience to as close to traditional TV as possible.

Joost has an impressive line up of programs and partners that will make video enthusiasts sit up and take notice. Joost has partners like MTV, Comedy Central, VH1, Spike TV, Logo and BET and Paramount Pictures. Among these partners, Paramount Pictures will provide full-length movies for the users of Joost. Apart from these partners, Joost will also host music from the Warner Music catalog and programs from the National Geographic channel. The company is already in negotiation with other media companies to expand its offerings.

Interestingly, in its eagerness to fight illegal downloads and stop loss of revenue from unauthorized uploads, Viacom joins hands with the founder of a P2P network that was once accused of perpetrating this very practice. Janus Friis, Joost’s founder, is also the founder of Kazaa, the file-sharing service that fought a lengthy battle over downloading with content authors and recently reached a settlement.

It will be interesting to see if Viacom has made the right move.

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Raju Shanbhag is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.