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Versaly Unveils Beta of B2B Mobile Video Syndication Platform
Versaly Entertainment is unveiling the beta version of its mobile video syndication platform, whose goal is to help content providers streamline the process of syndicating video to the expanding array of mobile distributors and
devices. As Matt Feldman, Versaly's president and CEO explained to me last week, the platform is actually a productization of tools that Versaly has developed over the years to distribute its own independent mobile video brands like Hollywood Insider, V Street, Fear No Sports and others.
Matt said that Versaly has found that each distributor has its own particular formats and processes for submitting video. For content providers it's extremely time-consuming to submit their files only to receive a notice that a small error was detected and the submission process has to be re-started. The situation is exacerbated because there are no clear standards and the exploding array of mobile devices, tablets and aggregators is adding to the work load every day.
Categories: Mobile Video, Technology
Topics: Versaly
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BNI Video Raises $16 Million To Improve Cable Operators' Competitiveness
BNI Video is announcing this morning that it has raised $16 million from the venture arms of the two largest U.S. cable operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable, along with Boston-area VC firms Charles River Ventures and
Castile Ventures. It is also introducing its software platform, meant to help cable operators better compete with online video alternatives. I recently caught up with Conrad Clemson, BNI's CEO and co-founder, to learn more about the company's approach.
BNI is aiming to solve a key problem that cable operators have today: their inability to quickly roll out web-based services (both video and non-video) that offer the same quality, flexibility and appeal that budding alternatives like Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and others are currently delivering. The inability to quickly deliver their subscribers the content they want anytime, anywhere and on any device is putting cable operators at a growing disadvantage relative to the newcomers. Examples of deficiencies include operators' archaic electronic program guides, slow rollout of TV Everywhere services, inflexible VOD ordering systems and so on.
Categories: Cable TV Operators, Deals & Financings, Technology
Topics: BNI Video, Comcast, Time Warner Cable
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Taboola Is Providing Video Recommendations For NYTimes.com
Taboola's EngageRank video recommendation technology has been officially adopted by the NYTimes.com, following a successful 8-month trial. NYTimes.com has implemented Taboola's recommendations in a section called "Other Videos You May Like" as thumbnails below the main player window and when the video ends. Taboola's CEO and founder Adam Singolda told me that based on A/B testing vs. other recommendations technologies, Taboola was found to drive 250% higher video views. Last week I met up with Adam and Lior Golan, who runs product and technology at the company and was in from Israel where he's based.
Categories: Newspapers, Technology
Topics: NYTimes.com, Taboola
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Auditude and Inlet Partner for Ads In Live Flash Streams
Ad manager Auditude is partnering with Inlet Technologies to deliver an automated ad insertion solution for live video streaming using Flash. The move means that media companies can better monetize live streaming events which have more complex ad insertion and management characteristics than do on-demand streams. Under the arrangement, Inlet's Spinnaker streaming appliances can detect cues from Auditude's ad manager in order to insert the right ads at the right time.
Serving ads in live streams has been a differentiator for Auditude, helping it recently land its first Asian deal with Allies Pacific Sports Network which has the rights to stream MLB games in various Asian countries. The deal was similar to one which Auditude has with Yahoo for MLB games domestically. Live streaming as a whole is growing rapidly and offers another exciting online video distribution opportunity for rights holders. The proliferation of both connected devices (allowing on-TV viewing) and mobile devices (allowing on-the-go, remote viewing), both suggest even broader appeal for live streaming events.
Still, with its unpredictable ad breaks with inconsistent durations, inserting ads in live streams is a new challenge. By helping ease the operational complexity and improve the ROI of live streaming, Auditude and Inlet will help the market grow.
What do you think? Post a comment now (no sign-in required).
Categories: Advertising, Live Streaming, Technology
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Magnify.net Lands Patagonia As Video's Role Broadens to Supporting Brands
Magnify.net, a provider of video management and curation services, is announcing later this morning that its platform will be used by Patagonia, the
outdoor clothing and gear company, to power a new multimedia gallery on its site.
The video-focused initiative will highlight Patagonia's commitment to environmentalism and reinforce its brand positioning. In explaining the gallery's role and using Magnify, Bill Boland, Patagonia's creative director, online, said, "Together, we expect to build a brand, lifestyle and e-commerce experience that will connect with our customers and provide both knowledge and entertainment for them." The deal is significant because it's yet another example of how video's use is evolving to include non-media companies who see video's strategic video in supporting their brands, not in the traditional ad-based or paid models. I caught up with Steve Rosenbaum, Magnify's founder and CEO yesterday to learn more about the deal and this broader trend.
Categories: Brand Marketing, Technology
Topics: Magnify.net, Patagonia
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Technology Innovation is the Key to Online Video's Rise
While in LA this week, I moderated a short panel at Always On's "OnHollywood" conference with Kaltura's Ron Yekutiel, Akamai's Kevin Freund, Microsoft's David Sayed and Fox Digital Media's Gregg Colvin. The conversation focused on the key technology building blocks for online video.
Clearly there has been a ton of innovation in online video technology, and the panel concluded that online distribution has now come into its own, with key strides in publishing/delivery, devices, user experience and monetization. In particular, panelists pointed to adaptive bit rate streaming, live streaming, HD and video opening up to new applications as important steps forward. On the flip side, the challenges identified as remaining included better measurement, improved capacity in broadband ISPs' "last mile" and reduction in work flow complexity to distribute to multiple devices.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Netflix
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Panvidea Positions As "Post-House in the Cloud" With Move to Joyent
Panvidea, a leader in digital media preparation is positioning itself as a "post-house in the cloud" with its move to Joyent's Smart Technology
infrastructure hosted by SwitchCloud. Panvidea's CEO Chris Cali and VP of Marketing Doug Heise brought me up to date on the initiatives a couple of weeks ago.
Panvidea is working with various media/entertainment companies like A&E, Fox and Getty Images to move their digital video production processes into the cloud. As Chris and Doug explained, traditional post-production houses have performed both craft services and more fundamental media creation services. It is these latter services - storing, processing, packaging and distributing digital media - that Panvidea is looking to automate, while having post-houses still concentrate on the high-skill craft roles.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Joyent, Panvidea, SwitchCloud
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Intel's CEO is Bullish on Google TV, Less So on Apple TV
Intel CEO Paul Otellini is plenty bullish on Google TV. In a short video interview with CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow, he praises Google TV's vision, saying that "we're just at the beginning of the smart TV revolution" and that "the holy grail here is a seamless proactive integration of this content." Of course, Otellini has a vested stake in Google TV's success as Intel is supplying its Atom chip to power Google TV.
Otellini is decidedly more bullish on Google TV than he is on Apple TV, though he's cautious in noting that Apple is an Intel customer too. He says that Apple TV is "a streaming device for protected content, and there's a market for that," but quickly adds, "I think there's a bigger market for a deeper integration of the Internet into content." I think he's right on both accounts. It depends on what the user values - an open Internet experience on their TV, or a closed, but easy-to-use way of accessing a high-quality library (not to mention the price for each). There isn't one right answer, yet anyway. See "For Connected Devices, To Browse or Not to Browse - That is the Question" for a deeper discussion.
Categories: Devices, People, Technology
Topics: Apple TV, Google TV, Intel
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Conviva Raises $15 Million for Global Expansion and R&D
Conviva, whose software monitors and helps improve the quality of streaming video, has raised a $15 million Series C round intended for global expansion
and R&D. The round was led by GGV Capital with participation from existing investors Foundation Capital, New Enterprise Associates and Pelion Venture Partners. Conviva has raised $44 million to date.
As I described last February, Conviva's software runs alongside the content provider's video player, sending "heartbeat" reports every 10 seconds about each user's video stream. This data is mashed up in real-time, so that if a problem exists, its exact nature is understood quickly and reliably. When a video isn't playing correctly, the issues can range from buffering to CDN congestion to local broadband ISP failures to other problems. Conviva says it has found that at least 25% of all streams have some issue which disrupts the user experience.
Categories: Deals & Financings, Technology
Topics: Conviva, GGV Capital
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VideoNuze Report Podcast #74 - Sept. 10, 2010
Daisy Whitney and I are pleased to present the 74th edition of the VideoNuze Report podcast, for August 27, 2010. We're back after skipping last week due to me taking some time.
This week Daisy and I further discuss my post from Wednesday about the remarkable growth of the JW Player, an open source video player that is now being downloaded 15,000 times per day according to company CEO Dave Otten. Beyond JW player's success, the larger story is how broadly online video is being adopted. Far beyond the large media companies that are vigorously covered each day, there are thousands of small businesses, enterprises, education, government, non-profit and other entities that are quietly embracing online video. Daisy and I talk about the implications of all this activity.
Click here to listen to the podcast (15 minutes, 7 seconds)
Click here for previous podcasts
The VideoNuze Report is available in iTunes...subscribe today!Categories: Podcasts, Technology
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New Flash Media Server 4 Targets Enterprise Users
Adobe is releasing Flash Media Server 4 today and an important new addition to the lineup is the Flash Media Enterprise Server, with specific features targeted to the enterprise customer segment.
These features include peer-assisted delivery using Flash's Real Time Media Flow protocol and IP multicast, the first time these have been offered. Both are meant to reduce enterprises' bandwidth expense and they can work in tandem with each other through what Adobe calls "Multicast Fusion." For the peer-assist feature, FMS works with the Flash Player 10.1 to help seed and distribute content. The enterprise focus reflects the growing use of video outside mainstream media business. Pricing wasn't released and is available for quote by Adobe reps.
IP multicast is also available in the Flash Media Interactive Server. It also supports real-time interactive applications like video chat and other social media apps. And it also incorporates HTTP Dynamic Streaming, which was previously announced in May, allowing CDNs and others to leverage their HTTP infrastructure. HTTP streaming has become a key competitive area since Microsoft introduced Smooth Streaming, for adaptive bit rate streaming to Silverlight clients over HTTP. The Flash Media Interactive Server pricing stayed constant at $4,500. Pricing for the basic Flash Media Streaming Server also stays at $995.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Adobe, Flash, Silverlight
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JW Player is Now Downloaded 15,000 Times a Day; Being Positioned as "WordPress for Video"
Yesterday I had a chance to catch up with Dave Otten, CEO of LongTail Video, who told me that the company's JW Player is now being downloaded 15,000 times a day, and is live on 1.3 million sites globally. Dave estimates that 7-10 billion video streams are consumed via JW Player monthly, a sizable portion of the approximately 90 billion streams he estimates are delivered globally each month.
If you're not familiar with the JW Player, it is an open source video player that was developed back in 2005 by Jeroen "JW" Wijering and was used by YouTube as its first player. Dave said the player's growth has come purely through viral distribution and he thinks of it as "WordPress for video"
(WordPress is the widely-used open source blogging platform). Dave believes JW Player's fast growth reflects the broadening appeal of online video beyond the traditional media industry. Many downloads are for first-time video users looking for an inexpensive solution to get them started (though few have graduated to other players even as their volume has scaled).
Categories: Technology
Topics: JW Player, LongTail Video
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Cisco's Kip Compton Explains ExtendMedia Acquisition
This morning Cisco announced it intends to acquire ExtendMedia, whose OpenCASE software is used by multiple pay-TV operators and content providers for video content management and three screen delivery. I've been following Extend for years, and it was a portfolio company of Atlas Venture, where my former consulting partner Ahmet Ozalp (who's now the CEO of Telenity, a mobile services provider) led its investment. For more on Extend, see this VideoNuze interview with Extend's CEO Tom MacIsaac, who was brought in 18 months ago and was previously CEO of Lightningcast, an early online video ad network that was acquired by AOL.
This morning I asked Kip Compton, Cisco's GM, Video and Content Platform about the deal and its implications, and Extend's founder Keith Kocho what it means for the company. Following is an edited transcript.
VideoNuze: Why is Cisco acquiring ExtendMedia?
Kip Compton: We're seeing a market transition to IP video with our service provider customers which is driven by their desire to reach consumers on all different devices and wherever consumers are. We believe Extend's technology and team are one of the leaders in the industry and will fit well with our efforts to deliver IP architectures to our customers.
Categories: Deals & Financings, Technology
Topics: Cisco, ExtendMedia
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Brightcove Doubles Global Customers to 1,800, Eyes Asia with New VP
In a show of continued strength, Brightcove is announcing that in the first half of 2010, its customer base doubled to 1,800 media publishers worldwide. This was fueled in part by meeting demand overseas in Europe and Japan.
Continuing to look towards Asia as its next major growth area, Brightcove also announced hiring Dennis Rose, a veteran from the software company Citrix, as vice president for the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.
On top of expanding sales geographically, Brightcove is benefiting from the mushrooming uses of online video and the changing definition of a "media publisher" (this echoes Will's post about IBM's use of video from last week) For example, its Japanese subsidiary, Brightcove KK, signed a number of marketing and e-commerce companies from many different sectors, including high-end fashion, healthcare, and even Japan's very first Girls Professional Baseball League. Additionally, Brightcove has been making strides into the growing mobile space, adding Android support, HTML5 support, and more importantly working with Freewheel to help monetize that HTML5 video.
Categories: Technology
Topics: Brightcove
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Kyte Continues Mobile Push With New BlackBerry Features
Online video platform Kyte is expanding its support for mobile devices, announcing this morning Kyte Mobile Producer for BlackBerry. The feature allows owners of certain BlackBerry devices to upload and distribute videos
from their handsets to multiple destinations. Supported models include the Bold, Curve 8900 and Storm. The Torch, the latest BlackBerry introduced, which is positioned to compete with the iPhone and Android devices, is not yet supported.
Kyte has previously introduced a similar mobile video feature for both the iPhone and Nokia S60. With the iPhone version, Kyte says that customers like Fox News have incorporated on-the-spot video captures from its field reporters. The "LIVEShots" feature allows for more informal video news coverage.
Categories: Mobile Video, Technology
Topics: BlackBerry, Kyte
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Brightcove Partners With Akamai HD Network for Bundled Delivery
Online video platform Brightcove is transitioning its bundled content delivery offering to the Akamai HD network, for which it will now be a value-added reseller. Jeff Whatcott, Brightcove's SVP of Marketing, explained to me last week that the decision was made in reaction to its customers' delivery requirements becoming more complex. Akamai HD's differentiators included improved economics, analytics, mobile delivery and global coverage among others.
Though the deal isn't exclusive, it will involve Brightcove moving over all of its customers who have been using the bundled delivery offering from Limelight, Brightcove's prior delivery partner. Jeff estimates more than 80% of Brightcove's customers take advantage of bundled delivery, though from Brightcove's standpoint, the fees it derives from delivery are small relative to its software and platform fees. Going forward, Brightcove will continue working with Limelight and other CDNs with whom it has relationships.
Categories: CDNs, Partnerships, Technology
Topics: Akamai, Brightcove, Limelight
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thePlatform Adds More Publishing and Advertising Controls
thePlatform is announcing this morning release 1.3 of its mpx video management system, which gives its customers enhanced publishing and
advertising controls. Marty Roberts, thePlatform's VP of sales and marketing walked me through the updates yesterday, which fall into 3 buckets:
1. Customized playlists - mix's "Feeds" now allows customers to combine both editorially and dynamically-driven playlists. For example, if a couple of videos are really hot, they can be selected to remain persistently at the top of the list rather than being bumped off by recent additions. In addition rules can be created so only users of authorized 3rd party distributors can play the video.
2. Granular geographic restrictions - Content access can now be set by country, region, metro code and area code. Additional settings include expiration date, referring domain and IP address.
3. New ad policies - mpx customers can select primary and secondary ad sources, along with the type of unit to be displayed (pre-roll, mid-roll, etc.). Some of this functionality lightly overlaps with what video ad managers like FreeWheel and Auditude offer, but thePlatform isn't trying to replace anyone in the ad management ecosystem; rather its features are meant for less complex customer situations.
Categories: Technology
Topics: thePlatform
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Bloomberg is Now Using Taboola's Video Recommendations
Browsing the web last week, I noticed that Bloomberg.com is now incorporating videos throughout its site from Taboola, the video recommendations engine. If you click on any article on the site, in the lower part of the right column you'll see several thumbnails of recommended videos (here's an example from an article today about Motorola's earnings). When you click any video you're then brought to a playback page, which has additional recommended videos (see below).
Categories: Syndicated Video Economy, Technology
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Ooyala Supporting Monetization of HTML5 Video
Online video platform Ooyala is announcing this morning that its HTML5 video player is now supporting dynamic ad insertion for IAB-standard ads. This
means that content providers using Ooyala's Backlot platform will be able to monetize video consumed by iPads and iPhones.
Categories: Advertising, Technology
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Verizon is Now Using Clearleap for FiOS Content Management
Clearleap, a web-based TV technology provider, is announcing that Verizon has integrated its platform to manage content on its FiOS 1 local channel throughout all of its U.S. markets served. FiOS 1 offers local news, sports,
traffic and weather. One particular use of Clearleap's technology will be to streamline the uploading and management of video by professional sports teams who offer extra coverage on FiOS VOD (one example of this is with my hometown New England Patriots).
For Clearleap, Verizon is the biggest telco launch to date, and it broadens the company's customer base beyond the cable operators it works with that cover 12M subscribers. I talked to Braxton Jarratt, Clearleap's CEO last week who said that it took Verizon just a few months to get up and running with the Clearleap technology. Unlike its cable deployments, in Verizon's case it didn't have to deploy any physical hardware in Verizon's data centers.
Categories: Technology, Telcos, Video On Demand
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