LONDON, UK, April 7, 2008 – Brightcove, the leading Internet TV platform, today announced a partnership with global social media network, Bebo, enabling its media customers to distribute online video content to Bebo’s 40 plus million members, while retaining control over their advertising inventory and 100 percent of the related revenues. Brightcove customers already taking advantage of the distribution opportunity include UK broadcasters Channel 4 and ITV.
The distribution partnership is made possible through platform integration with Bebo Open Media, a new social media network initiative launched in November 2007, which gives any professional media company, with rights-cleared content, free and open access to the Bebo community. The partnership announced today will make it easy for any media company using the Brightcove Internet TV platform to program and syndicate video content within Bebo. This gives users the ability to store and curate within their personal profiles their favourite music and video content; and virally distribute that content throughout their ‘friends network’ and the wider Bebo community.
The integration partnership enhances the online video experience for Bebo users by making top-rated news and entertainment programming from Brightcove’s media customers easily available for viewing and sharing using the Brightcove video player. Delivering rich media content that appeals to the user also boosts audience engagement with the Bebo site, increasing the overall value of the advertising inventory.
“The growth of video on the Internet is driving media companies to develop better distribution strategies and social networks are proving to be one of the most effective routes to market,” said Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer, Brightcove. “Globally Bebo is the pre-eminent social media network, highly adept at enhancing the service it offers and growing its user base. Integrating our Internet TV platform with Bebo Open Media gives this fast growing audience access to premium entertainment content from Brightcove’s customers in a highly controlled and secure fashion.”
Commenting on the partnership Evan Cohen, Bebo VP Strategy and Operations said: “Through Bebo’s Open Media platform, Brightcove’s media customers are gaining access to a highly-engaged community of users – many of whom fall into the 16-24 year old age range. The partnership will further expand the range of professional media owners using Open Media to create valuable new advertising inventory while media owners maintain control of their brand, their content and their revenues. We are the first social network to adopt this breakthrough business model.”
The UK’s largest commercial broadcaster ITV is the first Brightcove customer to provide entertainment content to Bebo users as a result of the integration partnership with Bebo. The broadcaster’s first channel launch with be hit US teen drama “Gossip Girl” airing on ITV2 and available at http://www.bebo.com/gossipgirl
About Bebo Open Media Platform
Launched at simultaneous events in London and New York, Bebo’s Open Media ushers in a new, legitimate way for people to explore and experience content on the Internet, and for media owners to promote, distribute and monetise their programming. Open Media allows users to store and curate within their personal profiles their favourite video content; and virally distribute that content throughout their ‘friend’s network’ and the wider Bebo community.
For media companies, Bebo’s flexible architecture gives them access to a growing community of 40 plus million members, many of whom fall into the elusive 13-24 year old target audience. Uniquely, partners will not be charged for access to the platform and are able to distribute their content using their own video players, which can carry their own advertising and allows them to retain 100 per cent of the related ad revenues.
About Bebo
Bebo is the world’s leading global social media network. Building on the notion of traditional social networking websites, Bebo combines community, self-expression and entertainment to enable its users to consume, create, discover and share professional and user-generated content through the Bebo website. Bebo has 11.4m unique users in the UK and a total membership of more than 40 million worldwide. Bebo also ranks as the UK’s most engaging social network with users spending an average of 33 minutes on the site per usage day (Source: comScore Media Metrix, Jan. 2008).
About Brightcove
Brightcove is the leading Internet TV platform used by media publishers worldwide to program, distribute and monetize video on the Web. The award-winning platform has empowered organizations of all sizes to launch and grow Internet video initiatives with unparalleled choice and control. Brightcove is dedicated to harnessing the inherent power of the open Internet to transform the distribution and consumption of media. For more information, visit www.brightcove.com.
