In the wake of news that it was working with AOL and had raised $16.2 million from several heavy hitters (including AOL), Brightcove has received a flurry of attention and praise in the past 24 hours. Here’s a sampling (Disclaimer: Having seen a demo of part of Brightcove’s software and thought a lot about the intersection of TV and the Internet myself, I’m inclined to think the attention and praise are justified, and, in an earlier post, I suggested a potentially very large valuation for Brightcove if it can execute on its business plan.)
In a subhead, a Reuters story asks the question of whether Brightcove may emerge as “The Google of Video.” And in a Forbes piece, Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff says “I think this adds a lot of credibility to Brightcove…They’re not just another startup company now.” In the Reuters story, Bernoff says Brightcove “just moved into the fast lane…If you’re thinking about getting video distributed more broadly, this is the best scenario.”
Don Dodge’s enthusiasm is partly based on the track record of Brightcove founder Jeremy Allaire:
Brightcove is a BIG idea from a guy who has proven he can execute. Allaire Corp was a public company with a market cap of more than $2.5B at its peak. The company was later merged with Macromedia, where Jeremy was CTO…Keep an eye on Brightcove. My prediction is that Brightcove will be The Next Big Thing in video distribution.
Barry Diller’s bullishness on Brightcove was evidenced by his company’s investment in the startup and the fact that he will be joining its board of directors. And he appears to see its impacts unfolding relatively soon. From the Wall Street Journal:
“Video on the Internet hasn’t really begun and you know that in the next five years — not 10 years — but five, it is going to transform things,” Mr. Diller said in an interview.
The Forbes piece also sketches out a possible evolutionary path for Brightcove’s platform and business plan:
Sometime later next year, Brightcove expects to join AOL in a co-branded service via AOL’s Web portal, offering a far broader audience than a content provider could expect from offering video only on its own Web site. For example, a search for video or text on AOL’s site could offer a link to a cable program or an academic lecture by a prominent professor, Allaire said. Revenue will be shared among video providers, Brightcove and AOL. Allaire wouldn’t discuss details of the revenue split.
While the service won’t prevent amateur videographers from offering their creations for commercial viewing, Allaire said the service’s initial focus is content from more traditional providers.
Brightcove does not have an exclusive agreement with AOL - the largest investor in Brightcove’s newly announced round of financing - so the deal does not foreclose possible future deals with other Web portals, Allaire said. Yahoo Inc., Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. all have recently moved to expand their online video capabilities. “You have to wonder what happens after Brightcove possibly signs up with other portals,” Bernoff said. “Google and Yahoo may be interested in these same sorts of partnerships down the line.”
Mitch Shapiro at 1:49 PM|Comments(0)
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