thePlatform Claims to Handle 3rd-Largest Volume of Online Video in US

In a recent keynote at the Contentonomics conference in Los Angeles, Ian Blaine, CEO of Comcast-owned white-label broadband video publishing company, thePlatform, revealed that the company's clients, according to figures from comScore's Video Metrix, had a combined total of 329 million video views in July. According to Blaine, this means that only two other US companies handle a larger volume of video than thePlatform: Google (including YouTube) and Fox Interactive Media (including MySpace), which rank first and second respectively. However, Blaine pointed out, the video managed by thePlatform is all premium video from leading media companies, nearly all of which is monetized by advertising: "The question today isn't how to monetize user-generated video," he told conference attendees. "That's a tired subject, and it's not a great business. The real question is how to make professional, high-quality video exhibit the same viral traits and success we've seen with user-generated content, which will better serve the consumer and the content owners' bottom line. The biggest inhibitor to the viral growth of video on the Web is that media companies are reluctant to distribute their content broadly to destinations they can't control. What content owners need is a 'long leash' to let their video run far and wide. With this long leash, media companies can still maintain control and monetize video wherever it lands."

Blaine also used his keynote to showcase ongoing collaborations with two other subsidiaries of Comcast Interactive Media: a demo with StreamSage was billed as showing how advanced metadata techniques can yield better search results and viewing experiences, and a demo with Plaxo was billed as showing how the companies are working together to provide a "longer leash" that will enable media companies to share video across social networks and across such platforms as the PC, mobile phone and TV.

In other thePlatform news: The company says it is working with interactive mobile media technology specialist, Azuki Systems, to extend Boston.TV's broadband video content to mobile devices and enable "the rapid and seamless socialization of rich mobile media" (note: Boston.TV offers a range of broadband video channels showcasing the eponymous city's food, sports, events, arts and entertainment, lifestyle and business). According to thePlatform, the combination of its Media Publishing System and Azuki's MashMedia platform is enabling Boston.TV to automate the process of optimizing its broadband videos and other rich media content for mobile devices. The company also says that the joint effort is enabling mobile users to interact with content on any of Boston.TV's channels and engage in social networking around that content, by commenting on and rating relevant videos and then sharing annotated media--via a functionality dubbed "BuddyBlast"--with contacts on SMS and on Facebook and other social networks. "We wanted to make our unique, short-form, Web video content easily accessible to mobile users, as well as entice our PC community to follow us to the 'third screen,'" Boston.TV founder, Eran Lobel, said in a prepared statement. "Through our work with Azuki and thePlatform, mobile users can have a personalized, interactive experience and can help shape and define the best elements of Boston."

thePlatform and Azuki claim that their joint technology offering provides content publishers with an easy mechanism for automating the process of extending content from the desktop to mobile devices: thePlatform's MPS provides content publishers with a central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating video content, the companies say, while Azuki's MashMedia platform brings this content to a mobile audience and facilitates the creation, deployment and monetization of interactive mobile media services, as well as the serving of content and advertising that is "highly relevant" to individual users. The companies also bill their joint solution as establishing a "stronger link" between Web and mobile content offerings, with automated extraction of newly uploaded content from thePlatform's MPS.