Friday, January 22, 2010

Online Video Platform Summit: Defining Online Video Platforms

The Online Video Platform Summit was held on November 18-19, 2009 as a featured event at Streaming Media West 2009, and was created to address the needs of the growing population of video publishers looking for solutions to publish their online video content. Over 30 online video platform providers shared their unique perspectives at the inaugural event, with panel sessions and platform showcases featuring an impressive line up of industry leaders, digital media executives, entrepreneurs, experts and innovators in the field of online video. As Streaming Media West Conference Chair Dan Rayburn noted, the real value of the summit was the ability to see these platforms in person, watch live demos and talk directly to the companies in the market.

We've seen exponential growth in the space since the event, with over 69 online video platform providers listed in VidCompare, and while many of the companies in the space do a great job at educating customers, there still is a lot confusion about what's actually needed for a business to launch video on the web. This opening session features an all-star panel that concentrated on defining online video platforms, and discussed the main functions and features customers should be looking for when evaluating online video platforms, the question of build vs. buy vs. free online video solutions, ways to monetize online video, how do online video platforms fit into the value chain of the video ecosystem and what sort of changes will we see in online video over the next few years.

Defining Online Video Platforms
Wednesday, November 18, 2009 10:30 AM PST

Moderator: Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen, Editor, StreamingMedia.com
Alex Castro, CEO, Delve Networks
Kristopher Drey, Founder, VidCompare
Bismarck C Lepe, Co-Founder & President of Product & Marketing, Ooyala
Ron Yekutiel, Chairman and CEO, Kaltura

Description: There have never been more people publishing online video, and there have never been more online video platform solutions on the market. But with so many choices, it can be confusing to decide what services are right for your online video initiatives. This "lay of the land" session will set the stage for the rest of the summit, and panelists will highlight the specific value associated with the capabilities of online video platforms to provide attendees with a working knowledge to better publish, distribute, and monetize online video content.


Online Video Platform (OVP) Provider - An OVP provider is typically a SaaS (software as a service) solution providing end-to-end tools to manage, publish and measure online video content for both on-demand and live delivery. Typical components of an OVPP include video hosting, encoding, custom players, syndication, analytics, as well as interactivity and monetization through a variety of online advertising options typically 3rd-party ad-servers/networks. Most OVPPs offer scalable product packages for both self-serve SMB publishers up to large media companies. (from VidCompare)

Related @ovpsummit Tweets from the session: