Brightcove 4 Online Video Platform Unveiled

Brightcove Inc. announced the general availability of Brightcove 4, a major new release of the industry-leading online video platform with enhancements that empower customers to maximize the quality, reach and business impact of online video across desktops and devices. Brightcove 4 introduces a host of new features, including support for native iPhone™ video application development, expanded live streaming capabilities, advanced analytics, and new resources for video distribution, monetization and custom online video applications.

Brightcove also introduced the new Brightcove Express edition to bring the power and flexibility of the leading online video platform within reach for all website projects, no matter how large or small. Brightcove Express is priced starting at 99 dollars per month with no annual contract.

“As video becomes pervasive on the Web, publishers face increasingly complex and demanding requirements that often span multiple use-cases and devices,” said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “Brightcove 4 provides a powerful and extensible suite of new services that make it easy for customers to execute three-screen strategies and generate additional value from online video through new distribution and monetization opportunities. And with Brightcove Express, the Brightcove 4 platform is accessible for any size organization and projects of any scope.”

Brightcove 4 builds on the success of the most comprehensive and widely-used online video platform in the market with wide-ranging innovations and enhancements.

Deliver high-quality video experiences across desktops and devices - Brightcove 4 introduces new capabilities that make it easier than ever to execute high-quality, three-screen strategies:
• Custom cloud encoding offers fine-grained control over state-of-the-art encoding technology, with higher quality default encoding, more formats, and more renditions to ensure optimal quality on every connection and device.

• Secure multi-bitrate streaming protects content while delivering smooth adaptive streaming over any connection.

• Universal Delivery Service (UDS) enables the delivery of content over the most appropriate protocol for the viewer, whether it is via PC, mobile device, connected television or set-top box.

• Brightcove Player and Software Development Kit (SDK) for the iPhone expands the delivery options available to website publishers to include iPhone applications and mobile video websites.

Maximize the business value of online video - Brightcove 4 addresses new use-cases and advanced requirements with a host of new features to help businesses and organizations generate additional value from their online video initiatives:
• Advanced monetization capabilities offer more control and efficiency in ad operations, access to new advertising networks and servers from Google, Yahoo, FreeWheel and the OpenX ad technology platform, as well as support for Video Ad Serving Template (VAST), the new industry standard enabling publishers to work with multiple ad servers and networks.

• Enhanced analytics provide in-depth insight into viewer engagement and the overall value of an organization's video content by highlighting the most effective and ineffective initiatives.

• Social sharing accelerates the flow of video through social networks and services, including Facebook®, MySpace and Twitter.

• Support for live streaming, including the ability to mix and match live and video on-demand programming within the same Brightcove players, brings the compelling immediacy of ad-supported live content within reach for publishers and projects of all sizes and scope.

• Media sharing helps publishers share videos across divisions, affiliates, and with other partners with a single click, enabling them to generate more value from their content through re-use and re-distribution.

Harness the power of cloud-based services to extend online video - Brightcove 4 includes a wide array of new cloud services, SDKs, and extensibility options that provide publishers with an advanced starting point that can adapt and scale to the requirements of the most sophisticated video project:
• Enhanced Media Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) allow developers to build deep, real-time integrations within their Web applications to drive search engine optimization and support robust workflow adaptations that lower the cost of video publishing.

• New Player APIs support the development of highly customized user experiences, advanced monetization, analytics tracking, and synchronized content placement.

• Brightcove Experience Markup Language (BEML) component skinning makes it easier to create fully branded player controls and in-player design elements without requiring Flash programming.

• iPhone SDK for Objective C programmers introduces pre-built components for playback, social sharing, content discovery, and hooks into the Brightcove Media API services.

• Ad Rules API and SDK offers more control and efficiency in ad operations to enable the easy development of sophisticated ad policies, new business logic and custom ad player integrations.

Available for any online video project, no matter how large or small - Brightcove 4's new capabilities and pricing brings the leading online video platform within reach for every professional website project or organization:
• Brightcove Express is a new edition that packs in all the essentials required to jumpstart new online video projects for as little as 99 dollars per month and with no annual contract.

• Easy integration with advertising networks makes it possible to deliver ad-supported video content at low cost.

• Google Analytics integration provides organizations with easy access to the most popular free Web analytics package, making it possible to get a unified view of all content interactions at an extremely low cost.

• Content Management System (CMS) integrations with popular entry-level and open source CMS solutions such as WordPress, TypePad, Drupal, Joomla and Ektron, enable websites of all sizes to easily integrate professional video into their existing Web publishing workflow.

Brightcove Cited as an Online Video Platform Leader

Brightcove Inc., the leading online video platform, announced it was recognized as a leader by Forrester Research, Inc. in its report, The Forrester Wave: U.S. Online Video Platforms, Q4 2009. Brightcove was among the select companies that Forrester invited to participate in its Wave report, and the company received top scores across all of the major evaluation categories.

According to the report, “Brightcove’s offering is the most comprehensive video platform in this Forrester Wave evaluation; it consistently scores high marks with few, if any, gaps. The company’s customer base, video scale, and internal resources are unrivaled in the market today. Brightcove’s significant resources and road map position the company to stay ahead in the video platform race.”

“Brightcove is honored to be recognized by Forrester as a leading online video platform,” said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “This is an exciting time for the online video industry, as video is becoming as pervasive as text on the Web and nearly every professional website is looking to publish video. We see an enormous global opportunity to establish Brightcove as the dominant platform for professional video publishing on the Web, and we believe this recognition from Forrester further validates our leadership position in the market.”

Forrester evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of six U.S. online video platform vendors against 37 criteria in three major categories – current offering, strategy and market presence. Platforms were evaluated against several features, including media management, user-generated video, player capabilities, publishing capabilities, distribution capabilities, monetization capabilities, reporting capabilities, internationalization, integration, scalability, and service offerings. Strategy was measured against the vendor’s ability to envision the future needs of the marketplace, the road map required to meet these needs, partner relationships and executive team experience. Customer base and financial strength were measured to determine market presence.

STV Launches High Definition With Brightcove

Brightcove Inc., the leading online video platform, announced that leading Scottish broadcaster, STV, has launched a series of new HD-quality, long-form video initiatives for catch-up viewing purposes using the Brightcove platform. “Scotland Revealed” a landmark, three-part documentary series filmed in HD is now available on STV’s online TV on Demand service, STV Player, for 90 days to viewers around the world.

“Scotland Revealed is one of STV's key landmark programmes for 2009, and I'm delighted that viewers across the world can watch this stunning series in all its HD glory on the STV Player,” said Alistair Brown, head of new media at STV. “The world class quality of the STV Player and Brightcove’s online video platform ensures that we can offer an unrivalled viewing experience of this breathtaking, high definition programme, which I hope viewers in Scotland and beyond will enjoy.”

Scotland Revealed is a visually stunning series that offers a spectacular look at the country, including some of its most iconic landmarks, landscapes and cityscapes, to provide viewers with fascinating insight into what has shaped Scotland. STV is employing the full range of capabilities provided by the Brightcove online video platform to support its new video initiatives. Brightcove’s long-form delivery capabilities enable STV to deliver HD-quality, full episodes of the Scotland Revealed series.

“STV was one of our first major broadcast customers in Europe, so it’s been particularly gratifying to witness the evolution and expansion of the organization’s online video initiatives,” said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove chairman and chief executive officer. “We’re proud that STV has chosen the Brightcove platform to support its groundbreaking Scotland Revealed series and look forward to contributing to the success of its future catch-up TV offerings.”

STV, a long-time Brightcove customer, rolled out its first catch-up TV offerings with the Brightcove platform in July 2008 and more recently through the re-launched STV Player site. The site ensures quick access to important and popular content and showcases programs in the context of STV’s other listings, all while ensuring the best possible viewing experience for the end user. STV also took advantage of Brightcove’s wide range of Media and Player APIs to provide more flexibility around its content workflow.

Fox Latin American Channels Launches Online VOD Service with Brightcove

Brightcove Inc., the leading online video platform, announced that Fox Latin American Channels has chosen to build its online VOD service on the Brightcove platform. Brightcove is enabling Fox Latin American Channels to deliver more than 800 hours of premium, advertising-supported, long-form video content in Spanish and Portuguese from some of the network's most popular shows through its Mundo Fox portal (http://mundofox.com/la and http://mundofox.com.br/br). In the short time since launching the new online VOD initiative on June 16th, Fox Latin American Channels has already generated 1.5 million unique users and 2.5 million page views for Mundo Fox.

"We're proud to expand our online video offering to include premium and long-form content particularly as demand from consumers and advertisers grows throughout Latin America," said Pablo Silva, vice president of global online publishing of Fox International Channels. "This is not about just publishing videos online," added Silva. "Our long-term goal is to become one of the most popular and profitable video destinations in our markets, propelled by our flagship TV properties and brands as well as platforms such as Brightcove."

Brightcove's long-form delivery capabilities enable Fox Latin American Channels to deliver up to HD-quality full episodes and clips of popular series like 24, Family Guy and Burn Notice from a range of channels and properties, including 20th Century Fox, Fox, FX and National Geographic. Brightcove also provides the best user experience possible by optimizing video delivery for any end user network condition.

"We're excited to work with Fox Latin American Channels as they continue to expand their long-form on-demand offerings, which include some of the most highly sought after entertainment programming on the Web," said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove's chairman and chief executive officer. "Fox Latin American Channels continues to be at the forefront of innovation when it comes to online video and on-demand viewing, and we're proud that the Brightcove online video platform has been chosen to support their ongoing efforts in Latin America and around the world."

Fox Latin American Channel runs and operates channels, websites, original production and monetization for a variety of network brands in Latin America, including Fox, FX, Fox Life, Fox Sports, Fox News, National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Music, Universal Channel, Hallmark Channel, Utilísima, SPEED Channel, Baby TV Channel, .Fox Networks, BienSimple, Fox Toma 1 and Fox Telecolombia. Fox Latin American Channels and Fox International Channels are wholly owned by The News Corporation Limited.

AOL Adopts Brightcove Platform for Online Video

Brightcove Inc. and AOL announced AOL will adopt Brightcove for online video content management, publishing and video playback throughout the AOL Network. This partnership will combine AOL's video content offerings with Brightcove's market-leading online video platform. Beginning in early 2009, AOL Programming and AOL Video, http://video.aol.com, programming partners will use Brightcove to deliver video to the millions of people who visit AOL sites each day. Brightcove's integration with AOL's global advertising platform, Platform-A, will also expand opportunities for content partners to monetize video with online advertising.

"Implementing Brightcove as the video platform across the AOL Network will help us deliver a richer experience for users and more powerful publishing tools to the editors and programmers who are engaging millions of people every day on sites like AOL Video, AOL Music, Moviefone, Asylum, Lemondrop and Engadget," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. "Working with Brightcove will accelerate AOL's ability to bring new consumer product features and advertising capabilities to market. The partnership with Brightcove is a strong complement to AOL's strategic focus on making it easier for users to find the videos they are looking for through our network of online video properties, the AOL Video portal and video search services like Truveo.com."

Brightcove recently announced a new version of their service, Brightcove 3, which includes an enterprise edition to address the specific needs of aggregators, portals, carriers and operators. AOL Video is the first major portal to take advantage of Brightcove 3.

"AOL's adoption of Brightcove signals a shift in the market where even the largest online video publishers are using online video platforms to help drive quality, while also reducing costs," said Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer, Brightcove. "This partnership allows AOL to shift attention away from platform software development and focus instead on core competencies such as aggregating content, creating compelling user experiences, and selling advertising. Rather than building out capabilities on their own, features like Brightcove 3's new player framework can be easily tapped to improve AOL's online video initiatives."

Today's announcement extends the relationship between the two companies, which began in 2006 when AOL became a minority stakeholder in Brightcove.

OMS Teams with Brightcove for German Online Video Network

Brightcove Inc., the leading online video platform, and OMS, Germany's online sales and marketing network for regional newspapers, announced a wide-ranging partnership that will enable OMS to use Brightcove to create an online video network for its member newspapers. The online video network will feature premium content licensed and distributed by OMS, as well as local video published by the regional newspapers. OMS will sell advertising against the combined video inventory and provide a new ongoing revenue stream to participating newspapers.

The first newspapers to participate in the online video network include seven regional newspapers across Germany. Website producers from each newspaper will have full access to the Brightcove online video platform to publish video provided by OMS as well as their own local video content. Brightcove enables producers to fully customize the look and feel of Flash-based video players, access rich analytics on viewing behavior, and collect and distribute video clips submitted by website visitors.

"The deal announced with Brightcove has given OMS the ability to rapidly launch an expansive video distribution network across multiple websites and manage a complex set of advertising programs," said Kim Kriegers, who's leading the project for the OMS. Georg Hesse, Managing Director, OMS, adds, "At the same time, OMS is giving member newspapers access to the most comprehensive and scalable platform in the world which they will be able to use to add premium video content to their websites from the network and publish regional news coverage produced by their local newsrooms. Our objectives are to collectively capitalize on the revenue growth in the online advertising categories of videos."

The OMS online video network will launch with a vast offering of premium content delivered by national and international news agencies and other premium content providers.

"OMS is an innovative and forward-looking organization that is pioneering new models for the newspaper industry to take advantage of online video to drive revenue and growth," said Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer, Brightcove. "We are very excited to partner with OMS to empower newspaper organizations to use online video to deepen engagement with readers and website visitors and grow their online media businesses."

Over the coming months, OMS is planning to roll out the online video network to over 60 regional newspapers and additional marketing partners which are part of the OMS network.