Ooyala Launches Localized Version of its Broadband Video Publishing Platform for Japan

Earlier this month (see the article published on itvt.com, January 12th), broadband video platform provider, Ooyala, announced that it had entered into a partnership with NTT Smartconnect--a subsidiary of Asia's largest telco, NTT Holdings--to sell a localized, co-branded version of its flagship Backlot video platform in Japan. On Wednesday, the company launched the new Japanese version of the platform, together with a Japanese Web site.

According to Ooyala, the new Web site allows Japanese companies to create an account quickly. Once the account is created, the company says, uploading, analytics, syndication and ad-serving features can all be managed in Japanese; and, for Japanese companies with an international footprint, the Ooyala video player automatically detects the browser language settings and adjusts the player controls and closed captioning to accommodate the end-user. "Online video is revolutionizing media consumption globally, and the Japanese market represents an exciting opportunity for us," Ooyala's SVP of corporate development, Chris Wong, said in a prepared statement. "By March of 2011, the Japanese government is planning to have broadband across the entire country, with over 75% of the population getting fiber directly to their home. With the deployment of this high-speed broadband infrastructure and mass proliferation of Web-connected mobile devices--this will make it possible for companies to leverage our platform to deliver richer and more engaging video content directly to their consumers." Added Takaharu Nakano, CEO of Brosta TV, a broadband/mobile video business unit of TV Asahi: "The Ooyala platform has enabled us to effectively manage, syndicate and analyze video content for our rapidly expanding offering of media channels on both the Internet and mobile phone platforms. We're excited to continue to grow with Ooyala through the use of their recently announced localized product which will make it easier for us to service our partners and customers."