Insider Chatter by Donna Bogatin

Is all well and good in the YouTube video world? Not exactly.

Interface changes are meeting with resistance. 

Moreover, it is hard to build a business on pirated video content. Who says? Jeremy Allaire, founder and CEO of Brightcove.

Allaire expressed his belief this morning in repsonse to my question to him about the Google YouTube way of doing business. Allaire discussed the Brightcove business model at the Future of Online Advertising conference in NYC and during the Q & A, I asked him for his industry perspective on YouTube.

Allaire previewed an impending “Aftermix” enhancement to Brightcove’s offerings: “you can mastermind a mind-blowing mash-up featuring videos, music clips, and images. Pull from your private collection or among the videos available in Aftermix, add some killer effects, and share your own sweet remix.”

Allaire stressed that Aftermix will feature “rights-cleared” assets for adding to the remix.

I indicated to Allaire that rights clearance is not a solved problem in online video, asking him:

You speak with all the top video content owners. From your industry perspective, do the YouTube lawsuits threaten not only Google, but thge very viral distribution model you speak of.

Because of DMCA concerns, Google is also stymied with advertising at YouTube as well, Is YouTube’s dominance at risk?

While Allaire, not surprisingly, declined to comment on YouTube’s legal exposure, he did affirm that:

It is difficult to build a business on pirated content.

Allaire suggested that an intermingling of authorized and unauthorized video content is a precarious situation. He underscored that Brightcove has taken an opposite approach by being focused on the interests of the rights holders.

While Allaire believes the Brightcove model is a good one, he also expressed confidence in Google’s YouTube staying power.

Copyright protection is not the only stumbling block, however, in what Allaire calls the “wide open distribution” of video online.

While Allaire hails “reaching consumers where they are, not where you want them to be,” he is pragmatic about the implications of seeking net value from ”incremental viral video distribution.”

New issues resulting from “buying massively distributed media,” according to Allaire:

1) Inventory will be syndicated in diverse contexts,
2) Domain-based measurement no longer sufficient, metrics need to account for content, not just sites,
3) Potential for sales channel conflict.

A fragmented programming environment “reframes how buyers think about video content,” Allaire indicated. Targeting becomes critical in “network advertising,” he said. Existing programmers have to rethink lines of products and launch micro-channels, Allaire believes.

Brightcove, itself, features more than 3000 different commercial video channels from professional media companies, Allaire noted.

Who is a TV network? Allaire asked rhetorically. After all, production companies, broadband startups, print media companies and Web publishers are all getting into the online video game, opening up a wide range of both programming and advertising opportunities, such as:

Branded destination content sites,
Viral distribution and widgets,
Managed syndication,
Portal distribution.

The Allaire bottom line: “Fragment, or be fragmented.”

READ INSIDER CHATTER’S EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: PROSCECUTORS OF YOUTUBE CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT

CONTACT DONNA BOGATIN