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16 September, 2009 by James McBride

Is Google Buying Brightcove?

Image representing Brightcove as depicted in C...Image via CrunchBase

Both Silicon Alley Insider and Mashable are reporting that Google is in talks to buy Web video provider Brightcove for $500 million to $700 million. If true,  The move would make Google’s YouTube, the top consumer Web video site, a powerful player in the commercial Web video industry as well. Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire says that the company is profitable and cash flow positive. Analyst estimates put Brightcove on pace to do $80 million in sales this year—which would put this deal around 6-9X revenue.

To date, Brightcove has raised approximately $91 million in venture capital. For those unfamiliar with the service, Brightcove is essentially the YouTube of business to business video, powering video streaming on large sites like AOL, The New York Times and The Washington Post. And if completed, such a deal would give Google significantly more reach in online video.

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11 September, 2009 by James McBride

Yahoo Lowers Payments To Publishers

Yahoo! MessengerImage via Wikipedia

Yahoo recently notified Yahoo Publisher partners (third party sites that display Yahoo cost per click ads) that they should expect to see new “pricing adjustments” which will be based on the quality of traffic coming from their sites.

TechCrunch reports that Yahoo (and its competitors) regularly make adjustments to CPC payments doled out to publishers based on the perceived “quality of traffic.” Supposedly these payments are credited to advertisers, but there is really no way to know. And the changes Yahoo has implemented appear to make more dramatic adjustments to outbound payments.

However, an even deeper problem, according to many publishers is the “black box” way of doing business that Yahoo (and other online ad networks) adhere to. It is an unfortunate situation which makes it difficult, if not impossible, for publishers to improve the type of traffic sent to the networks and to adjust content and products in order to help advertisers.

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10 September, 2009 by James McBride

Adobe Adds DRM To Flash

Adobe Systems IncorporatedImage via Wikipedia

Adobe Systems Inc. is adding a new digital rights management (DRM) component to its Flash video technology that will allow users to download and watch content in-browser even when not connected to the Internet.

The new DRM scheme will be supported by an upcoming version of the Adobe Flash player, and will enable Adobe to support a wider variety of business models, including electronic sell-through, rental, and on-demand for streaming or for download.

While Flash is popularly used to stream video, more high quality, long-form content is going to be increasingly downloaded more and content owners want more protection. Adobe Flash Access 2.0, which is a rebranded version of the company’s Flash Media Rights Management Server, will allow content owners to encrypt and deliver videos content to the browser, something that existing Flash DRM doesn’t support. The new DRM technology is expected to be launched in the first half of 2010.

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9 September, 2009 by James McBride

PubMatic Announces Lineup for Ad Revenue Conference

Image representing PubMatic as depicted in Cru...Image via CrunchBase

PubMatic Announces A-List Lineup for Ad Revenue 2009, The Premium Publisher Conference on October 8th in New York City

Second Annual Ad Revenue Conference to Improve Ad Monetization Strategies for Premium Online Publishers and Media Companies

PALO ALTO, Calif. – PubMatic, a global company that provides premium online publishers technology and a full service solution to manage and monetize non-guaranteed ad inventory, today announced the sponsor and speaker lineup for Ad Revenue 2009. The second annual Ad Revenue conference, a follow up to last year’s sold out event, will be held on October 8th at New World Stages in New York City. The event will bring together hundreds of thought leaders in the online display advertising industry and will focus on increasing the revenue made by publishers from non-guaranteed inventory.
This event is happening with the generous support of InterCLICK, Audience Science, CPX Interactive, eXelate, MediaMath, and Pulse360.
Ad Revenue 2009’s industry expert speakers will focus on the ecosystem that drives revenue for premium publishers’ 2nd Ad Sales Channel, or inventory not sold through their direct sales force. The 2nd Channel ecosystem is vast and complex, made up of ad networks, ad exchanges, data exchanges, and many other segments. Ad Revenue 2009 will bring clarity to the ecosystem for premium publishers so that they can develop the best strategies to increase their advertising revenue in the immediate future and for years to come.
“The Ad Revenue conference is the only conference dedicated entirely to helping premium publishers develop strategies to increase the value of their non-guaranteed inventory,” said Rajeev Goel, PubMatic Co-founder and CEO. “Hundreds of companies are driving innovation that can help significantly raise their bottom line, and the publishers that understand the ecosystem the best stand to gain the most from it. If there is one conference that premium publishers need to attend every year, this is it.”
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