Streaming video is at its pinnacle. Not just for titans like YouTube (News - Alert) and Netflix, either, but a host of other services are starting to come together, offering up a variety of different topics, programs, and more. Now, AT&T (News - Alert) and Chernin Group are set to make a new agreement as far as over-the-top (OTT) video goes, bringing together a hefty $500 million investment plan to not only acquire, but also invest in and even fully release complete lines of OTT video.

Already, the Chernin Group is bringing a substantial prize in with it, specifically its majority stake in the Crunchyroll anime service. But this is only the start of the AT&T / Chernin Group alliance; the company plans to bring out both ad-supported VOD channels as well as ones backed by subscribers, plus streaming services to boot, helping to ensure that the company has a massive stockpile of potential Internet video services. But the company isn't planning to bring out a kind of “virtual pay-TV” service that would have to compete in the same ground as cable or satellite television.

AT&T and the Chernin Group had been previously seen working together, at last report, on a bid to try and take Hulu from its current ownership that ultimately decided to hold onto the company. But reports suggest that the AT&T / Chernin Group alliance doesn't have any specific properties in mind, though the company did make an agreement regarding “@SummerBreak,” a social media-based series that focuses on teenagers in and around Los Angeles that's set to come back for a second season.

AT&T's chief strategy officer, John Stankey, offered up some further commentary on the deal between the two companies, saying “AT&T and The Chernin Group are combining our skill sets to address the growing consumer demand for accessing content how and when they want it. Combining our expertise in network infrastructure, mobile, broadband and video with The Chernin Group’s management and expertise in content, distribution and monetization models in online video creates the opportunity for us to develop a compelling offering in the OTT space.”

Given that AT&T has over 110 million wireless subscribers already, along with 16 million broadband subscribers, it's got a pretty fair base to address any content issues. Since the Chernin Group has plenty of content assets and expertise, it's the kind of point that should make for a good partnership.

There's a lot of opportunity out in the OTT video market, if for no other reason than there's so much that's remained untapped for some time. Consider the sheer number of shows out there ranging back 20 to 30 years, or beyond, that are simply impossible to find. Looking from YouTube to Hulu (News - Alert) to Netflix and beyond makes it a difficult prospect, and that spells opportunity. The sheer amount of content that's existed, yet is unavailable at this moment represents a mother lode for an organization with sufficient resources to tap it, and that's exactly what AT&T and the Chernin Group could do. That's before the dazzling array of original programs already out there, running with next to no budget, come into play.

Just what form the alliance's end product will take, however, remains to be seen. There's certainly plenty of options on hand—the Chernin Group, as noted previously, already has a stake in Japanese animation, a major market in the United States—and picking one will likely end reasonably well in a market that's increasingly hungry for streaming video.