Syndication refers to the act of collecting the content of online websites and publishing it on different media such as newspapers, journals, or televisions. A number of Internet companies offer syndicated content on their websites in order to reach a wide audience. Broadcast syndication, on the other hand, is the process of renting out the broadcast rights to various radio shows and television programs for multiple television channels and radio stations without going through a single broadcast syndicate. Both types of syndicating are similar in that they allow the content to be viewed by a large number of people, but they do it in separate ways.
Syndication on a third-party website means that a business, organization, or individual hires a syndicate in order to publish its content to a larger number of audience. In this kind of arrangement, the company that owns the rights to the content allows other entities to feature it on their website as well. Syndication partners often help to advertise the content on their websites. As an example, a pharmaceutical company that produces a health product may enter into a syndicate with a website focused on health remedies. When a visitor to the website makes a purchase of one of the health remedies, the pharmaceutical company that represents the health remedy has the content displayed on its website to reach a targeted audience.
Syndication on a newspaper is a type of independent syndication in which an independent newspaper owned by a particular company syndicates the content of specific stories on a daily basis to a number of different newspapers that target a particular geographic area. For example, a medical website could enter into a syndicate agreement with a broad spectrum of different newspapers to display the health supplement industry within the paper. In this way, the content syndicate receives payments based on the number of newspapers that feature the content it airs on. The objective is to provide informative, relevant content to as many audiences as possible. In this manner, a content syndicate ensures that its advertising costs are as minimal as possible and allows advertisers to reach their audience at a significant cost savings.