Seattle headquartered Getty Images has announced that it will be the exclusive distributor of still images collected from CNN footage.

The company, which claims to be the leading provider of imagery and related products and services, says it has customers in more than 50 countries and that nearly 40 per cent of its revenues come from outside North America. The exclusive licensing agreement with CNN increases the number of news images Getty can offer to its editorial customers. The deal allows Getty Images to capture and license footage from all of CNN's networks including CNN, CNN Headline News, CNNfn and CNN International.

As part of the agreement, Getty Images will create stills based on relevant CNN television footage and make it available for high-speed electronic browsing, downloading and distribution on gettyimages.com. Customers can choose from stills of breaking news as well as of established and recognised CNN programmes and features.

Getty Images' news and sports photography of major news events such as 9/11, the ongoing overseas military action and the Olympics has appeared on the covers of publications including Time, Newsweek and The Economist. Getty Images is the official photographer or photographic partner to more than 40 major sports organisations including the International Olympic Committee and the NBA, the company claims.

CNN's reach currently extends to 16 cable and satellite television networks, three private place-based networks, two radio networks, wireless devices around the world and 13 websites, says the company.