Digital Media Buzz > Match Game: Interactive Video Meets Branding

Match Game: Interactive Video Meets Branding

By Margaret K. Collins

Interactivity is video’s future on the web. Two companies are not only making that bet but are joining forces to increase their chances of winning in the business.

Veeple and BitGravity announced their partnership last month and recently launched their enhanced online video platform and delivery system. So far, “we are very pleased with the quality and speed,” says Veeple CEO and co-founder Scott Broomfield.

Veeple entered into the symbiotic relationship for two reasons, Broomfield says: BitGravity delivers online video streams in seconds for a reasonable cost, and it can handle globally streaming large volumes of video.

Having the capacity to drive more web traffic to video appears to be a growing need. According to a report by comScore, a leading digital-research provider, Americans viewed 14.5 billion online videos in March, which was an 11-percent increase from the prior month. The average viewer watched nearly 5.5 hours of online video, the report says, and the average clip lasted 3.4 minutes.

If Veeple gains the increasingly important bandwidth, how does BitGravity benefit from the deal?

Veeple “provides effective software” for innovative, interactive video applications, says BitGravity CEO Perry Wu. Veeple, a private company started in 2007, provides its customers with a video content management system including a flash video player with interactive functionality. Based in Palo Alto, Calif., the software company charges its clients through a tiered, subscription-based model with price points starting at $99 a month for up to 10,000 video views. Veeple’s video platform offers clients branding options such as branding the video player by using a Favicon (short for favorites icon) in the lower right hand corner and interactivity, such as clickable video.

Imagine streaming live video of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Veeple CEO Broomfield says, and allowing the viewer to click on the video for the full text of her speech. Veeple also offers clients an “in video contact us” feature to collect contact information from potential customers.

BitGravity’s strength, on the other hand, is streaming high-quality video online in seconds. The privately funded company, based in Burlingame, Calif., was founded in 2006 to store and deliver HD and large video files over the Internet. Today it’s a leader in streaming live and on-demand web video for mass audiences.

For example, BitGravity teamed with Showtime in April to show five live streams simultaneously online to create an interactive experience for viewers of martial arts event.

BitGravity’s hope for the future revolves around “pushing video technology so that the end-user experience is unlike any other experience,” Wu says. The goal is not to mimic broadcast video, but to invent a unique, high-quality video experience on the web, he adds.

Approaching online video differently than broadcast is a philosophy both CEOs share. The web is inherently interactive, unlike television, Veeple’s Broomfield says. “Everything on the web today is interactive, except video,” he says. “You’re leaning in, you’re interactive, you’re clicking, you’re playing video games. Until recently, video was passive on the web. But the next generation of video platforms will be interactive because it’s an interactive medium.”