Brightcove, the internet television start-up company founded by Jeremy Allaire, has secured over $16 million in further investment and a significant distribution agreement with AOL.
Brightcove, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, will offer an online service to allow video publishers ranging from small independent producers to major media companies to distribute and sell the programming through a variety of broadband channels.
AOL, IAC/InteractiveCorp, The Hearst Corporation and Allen & Company have joined with existing Brightcove investors Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners to invest $16.2 million in Brightcove in a second round of funding.
Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Expedia, will become a director of Brightcove.
As a result of the investment from AOL, publishers using Brightcove will have the option to syndicate their video content directly to AOL.com, with the potential to generate revenue from advertising and sales of their programming, A co-branded version of the Brightcove service will be marketed as the self-service platform for publishing video on AOL.com.
“The opportunities these investors bring to Brightcove, combined with the relationships we are already developing, put us in an incredible position to deliver our open Internet TV service and realize our mission to transform the media landscape by enabling video publishers to build broadband businesses that reach consumers directly through the Internet,” said Jeremy Allaire, the chairman and chief executive of Brightcove.
“The broader Internet and media industry is investing in our vision for open Internet TV,” said the founder of Brightcove, a former chief technology officer of Macromedia. “This is great news for both publishers and consumers who are excited about a world where video programming is broadly accessible through the internet.”
“By working with Brightcove, AOL is taking another important step forward in rounding-out our video offerings, providing consumers with a more robust and complete menu to choose from,” said Jonathan Miller, the chairman and chief executive of America Online. He said that this initiative, together with the recent announcement of its In2TV online video service, “takes AOL.com to a whole new level in this space”.
Brightcove has launched a commercial preview service and is currently inviting interest from video publishers, ranging from independent producers to large cable broadcasters. The full service will be launched to the public in 2006.