NEW DELHI: NBC News has acquired the user-generated live video service Stringwire as part of an effort to strengthen its newsgathering efforts.

As part of the deal it has also hired Stringwire founder Phil Groman, who will join NBC News as product lead and work out of the NBC News Digital Group's San Francisco office. Other terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

"Stringwire is at the leading edge of user-generated video products, with immediate value to our on-air and digital businesses," explained NBC News senior VP and chief digital officer Vivian Schiller in a statement announcing the deal. "Long-term, we think there is great commercial potential."

NBC News believes that Stringwire's technology will provide its TV and digital platforms with new tools for newsgathering and for using eyewitness user-generated video content.

Stringwire allows news organisations to request video from a network of verified contributors with connected mobile devices capable of streaming video across the globe. For breaking news and stories, Stringwire has the ability to recruit and direct contributors based on geographical location via Twitter and then to instantly access their live footage.