Brightcove to Europe
Brightcove, the Cambridge Massachusetts Internet TV syndication and service provider announced this week they are officially crossing the pond.
After previously signing UK based media programmers British Sky Broadcasting, Sony BMG UK and others, Brightcove will open London offices.
Brightcove has raised more than $80m in investment from institutional and corporate investors. Their service focus on partnering with major media (news and entertainment) companies and offering them development resources for creation, syndication and advertising of online video content.
With Brightcove indirectly competing for audience with IPTV companies like Joost and Babelgum which are already international in scope (and based in the UK), the office development was not a question of if but when.
Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire said, "Bringing our multi-layered approach to Internet TV to Europe gives media owners in the region the highest degree of choice and control over the distribution and monetization of their Internet video content."
In other announcements, supporting the expansion, Brightcove also announced deals with Hachette Filipacchi and BET International.
Hachette Filipacchi, the largest magazine publisher in the world, will launch Internet video channels for its women’s magazines including Elle magazine UK. Brightcove will support the site.
BET will launch BETonBlast.co.uk later this summer. Brightcove’s technologies will help promote the channel and allow its content to be embedded on various social networks and webs sites. Advertising for the site will be sold by Viacom Brand Solutions. (Viacom, the parent of MTV Networks, which includes BET, is a previous investor in Brightcove.)
