In news that shouldn’t be too surprising, Brightcove has announced that its YouTube-style consumer video community, which currently resides at the Brightcove.TV domain, will soon be closed.
As of December 17, 2007, users of the video service and community
will no longer be able to upload videos, as the website will be
refocused to provide a central destination for the professional
distribution and promotion of the company’s network of media partners.
Brightcove has always seemed more focused on developing methods of
distributing and monetizing videos, providing a platform for several
high-profile clients, so what exactly took this team so long to realize
that running a YouTube competitor was not the way to go?
With the interactivity of the internet, two types of web video have
emerged, professional video (similar to television content, though
often more brief) and user-generated video (created by amateurs). It
has been clear that the king of user-generated video platforms is
YouTube ever since their purchase by Google for more than $1 billion,
but there has been no clear top-notch platform for the professional
side.
It should have been a clear indication to Brightcove early on that
their focus should be on the market that they still have a shot at
capturing. This seemed to be the case when the user-generated service
was relocated from the Brightcove.com domain to Brightcove.TV, but still the company struggled to provide for both sectors.
The following message was sent by Brightcove today to all users of its service:
Dear Brightcove.TV member,
Beginning December 18, 2007, we plan to end support of direct
consumer uploads to Brightcove.TV. As a result, you will not be able to
upload new videos to Brightcove.TV after December 17, 2007. But videos
you have already uploaded to Brightcove.TV will remain available on the
site and through your Brightcove.TV channel. Videos you have embedded
in other sites and blogs will also continue to play.If you have a Brightcove Platform or Network account, which means
you use the Brightcove Console, then you will still have the option to
promote videos on Brightcove.TV.Brightcove.TV will continue to be a guide to great video from
Brightcove media and business partners. The site will have new videos
added to it daily from these partners and these videos can be saved as
favorite videos in your channel.We appreciate your interest in Brightcove and apologize for any disruption this change may cause you.
Sincerely,
The Brightcove Team
Nothing truly revolutionary has been developed by Brightcove to make it stand out among other services, other than the recently launched Brightcove Show
internet TV platform, and perhaps this is why. Whether the company has
a shot a succeeding now is still a question that is up in the air. Some
believe that the executives at Brightcove seem unexperienced
for having received over $80 million in funding and still changing
focus after three years in business, but I just hope that this is the
last time. Before long, users will be so confused that no one will want
to use the service if Brightcove cannot make a final, standing decision.
Expect the new, professional Brightcove.TV to offer the same choice
of accounts (free, ad-supported network account or paid publisher
account) and much of the same content, as most of Brightcove’s existing
videos seemed to be provided by media partners.
Will Brightcove now finally be able to succeed or could this be the last move for an indecisive crew?
