Content Publishers

Strike.TV open to public, announces 10 new shows

Pete Wylie — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:17:35 -0400

Strike TV launched its online video network earlier this week, marking the first attempt to launch an "online studio" that produces original, professional shows by Hollywood talent for the internet video audience. Strike claims to have some of the "talent behind" shows like "The Office," "SNL" and "The Wire," movies like "Die Hard" and "License to Kill," and internet-only shows like "LonelyGirl 15."

With the creative branch of Strike coming from such diverse and successful backgrounds, its original content could make waves in the entertainment field.

As entertainment consumers, especially younger audiences, begin to digest more and more of their favorite content online, the Strike TV model could draw big.

"We recognized a real opportunity to provide high-quality, original content to online audiences seeking entertainment," said Peter Hyoguchi, Strike.TV CEO, in a release. "...Not only is Strike.TV a statement about the independence that the Web medium brings to the creators, but it's also a direct response to the maturing tastes of the online audience who consistently seek high-quality entertainment on the Internet."

In addition to the built-in audience on its home site, Strike has deals in place to cross-distribute with YouTube and Joost, and will also stream to TVs through a deal with TiVo.

Strike is highlighting social media features that will accompany each show, in hopes that they will develop loyal communities of fans who will interact often with the show and stay on-site longer. Strike launched the beta version of its platform in August 2008.

For more:
- visit the Strike.tv website here (registration required)
- view the release here

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EveryZing launches advanced video SEO player

Pete Wylie — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:11:18 -0400

EveryZing, the video SEO and universal search company, launched its MetaPlayer today. The new player gives consumers heightened interactivity with online video while retaining advertising and branding placed by the content owner. The player leverages rich metadata and EveryZing's voice-to-text technology to create in-video search capabilities that are unrivaled in the industry.

The MetaPlayer gives consumers of online video the ability to find exactly where their keyword search appears in a video's transcript, allowing them to jump to the part that is most relevant for them. It also generates thumbnail images from within the video to give the user visual cues about the flow of a video.

EveryZing CEO Tom Wilde said the company is committed to developing the best publisher-facing online video solution, while giving the user the best possible experience.

"By allowing the user to manipulate clips and embed them elsewhere, while retaining branding and any advertising that's on the video, I think the MetaPlayer delivers a lean-forward user experience coupled with monetization opportunities for publishers," Wilde said. "I think it is a fair trade to have the advertising and branding accompany a video you let the user put on their site and clip to their liking. I think content publishers and end-users will be very pleased with the array of features the MetaPlayer has to offer."

The MetaPlayer allows site owners to drop appropriate YouTube channels into the white-label player that's been branded to their site, opening up their site to loads of content while maintaining branding capabilities.

The Dallas Cowboys are the first announced partner with the MetaPlayer, and you can view the player in action here.

For more:
- see the EveryZing MetaPlayer release here

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Fierce 15 Online Video Movers and Shakers: YuMe

Pete Wylie — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:29:24 -0400

YuMe
Founded: March 2007
Location: Redwood City, Calif.
Investors: Khosla Ventures, Accel Partners, BV Capital, DAG Ventures
www.yume.com

YuMe lays claim to the largest video advertising network, and it has the stats to back it up. ComScore ranks YuMe eighth in total online ads with the YuMe Video Network reaches 134 million unique visitors a month (comScore, June 2008). The company represents more than 400 video sites and serves upward of 500 million streams monthly.

YuMe offers more than 10 different ways to advertise over online videos, including post and pre-roll, overlays, branded players, and in-text video, delivering ads to brand-safe content across platforms.

Working both sides of the street -- by collaborating with content publishers and advertisers that want to pair their customers with online video -- enables YuMe to offer great value to everyone. It has achieved wide scope with limited capital investment; reports indicate YuMe has taken down a mere $16 million in two rounds of venture money.

Back to FOV Fierce 15

"The Resistance" for EQAL

Doug Mohney — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:38:31 -0400

The web video producers who gave us "lonelygirl15," presents their latest offering, "LG15: The Resistance."

"The Resistance" is being shot in Los Angeles and is being syndicated through a number of top U.S. video sites, including YouTube, MySpaceTV, Hulu, imeem and Veoh. EQAL is producing 12 installments for season one, which launches online on September 20, and will air a new episode every Saturday. Fans can choose to watch the weekly episodes only, or they can immerse themselves in the broader LG15.com website which has "daily snippets" of content, including blog postings, polls and characters' video blogs.

Part soap opera, part deep conspiracy, the new series features teen characters (no surprise there; "lonelygirl15" was also allegedly a teen) facing their daily lives and a mysterious group seeking out young girls with a rare blood type.

Creators of the series fess up and say Joss Whedon, creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Dr. Horrible's Sing-along Blog," was their muse.

Advertising will include some display ads and overlays, but no preroll video, says EQAL. The company is also seeking to interest brands in product integration (placement) deals within the story if the products fit.

For more:
- AdWeek talks about "The Resistance." Article
- And so does CNet. Blog

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Veoh Adds ABC & ESPN

Doug Mohney — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:18:45 -0400

Veoh Networks has announced it will be distributing full episodes from ABC and short-form online video content from ESPN.com.

Coming through ABC's broadband player, free access to full episodes includes such series as Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, Jimmy Kimmel Live and Ugly Betty. Veoh expects to offer short-form programming from ABC later in the year through an embedded player. Sports junkies can get highlights of major sports events, clips from ESPN programs, and SportsCenter Right Now from an embedded ESPN video player.

Enhancements to ABC's online video player will be rolled out this fall, including true full-screen viewing, closed captioning and enhanced navigation and video search capabilities. The deal also enhances ESPN's online reach. In 2007, ESPN.com served up more than 1.2 billion video views and so far in 2008, fans are watching an average of 121 million videos per month.

Observers wonder what took ABC so long to work out a syndication deal with Veoh; CBS and NBC have been aggressively working on syndication for their properties.

Veoh currently lays claim to aggregating more than 100,000 content publishers, including CBS, Lions Gate, PBS, National Lampoon, Road and Track and US Magazine, and more than 28 million viewers as of late June.

Earlier this month, Veoh landed a new round $30 million in financing lead by Adobe and Intel. The company was one of six companies selected in mid-June by Warner Bros. to distribute TheWB.com.

For more
- Veoh adding ABC & ESPN shows announcement

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Funny or Die or Invest

Doug Mohney — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:17:18 -0400

Everyone's getting excited about HBO taking a small stake in Will Ferrell's FunnyorDie.com Internet video site. But who's going to get the last laugh here?

Included in the deal, HBO has commissioned 10 half-hour shows from Funny or Die. The two entities expect to partner on a host of future projects under the deal ranging from live comedy tours that ForD is putting together to a ForD programming block on one of HBO's many, many channels.

Specifics of the 10-show block are being worked out, with speculation that some segments would be standalone entries while others are multiple installments revolving around the same concept or characters. It could be anything from a "funny offbeat talkshow" to "a show with puppets," said frontman Farrell to Variety.

ForD's estimated value last year after its second round of VC money was around $100 million. HBO has bought some chunk of FoD, less than 10 percent, but nobody's saying just how much.

As a web property, Funnyordie.com has averaged 3.2 million unique visitors per month during the past few months as visitors have checked out Ferrell's short comedy videos with occasional appearances by Ferrell in them.

Funny or Die, which bowed in 2006 with backing from venture capital shingle Sequoia Capital, completed a second round of financing late last year that valued the company at $100 million.

More and more, big traditional media is cutting deals with smaller buzz-worthy Internet video ventures, placing bets on the future and working cross-promotional multi-channel deals touching broadcast and online properties.

For more:
- Variety reports on HBO investing in Funny or Die

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Adobe Media Player, TV launched

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:59:57 -0400

Adobe Systems has officially released Adobe Media Player 1.0 software and lined up a large group of television broadcasters and content publishers to provide content; supporters include CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group, PBS, CondéNet, and Scripps Networks. Adobe is also, "eating their own dog food" by launching the Adobe TV network to provide instruction and original programming about Adobe products.

Users should find the new software provides high-quality playback of streamed, downloaded or locally stored video in the Adobe Flash format. Video resolutions of 480i, 720p, and 1080p are supported. Users can subscribe to TV shows and other online content and automatically receive new episodes as they become available.

For content owners and media publishers, Adobe Media Player provides new ways to distribute, measure and build businesses around video content. The player offers offline monetization and branding options, including viewer-centric dynamic advertising for targeted marketing campaigns and the ability to customize the look and feel of the player to match the brand or theme of the video content. It can also provide content publishers with anonymous measurement of content usage data, such as when and how often a video has been viewed, in addition to supporting protection options such as protected streaming, advertising protection and video DRM protection.

At launch, initial Adobe Media Player content includes CSI: New York, CSI: Miami, Big Brother, Star Trek, Melrose Place, Hawaii Five-O (Book 'em Danno!), The Twilight Zone and MacGyver along with clips from various MTV properties. More content from MTV, Nickelodeon, COMEDY CENTRAL, VH1, CMT, Logo, Spike, The N, GameTrailers and Atom Films will be made available over the next several months.

There's also Adobe TV, four channels targeting photographers, designers, video professionals, and developers. Adobe has put up over 200 videos with programming ranging from how-to information, case studies to workflow deep-dives.

For more:
- Adobe Media Player press release
- Adobe TV press release
- Mashable.com story calling for more content on Adobe TV here