Guide to the TechWeb Network


The InformationWeek -- Blogs


Topics:   Video

  • Email this page E-mail this page
  • |  Print this page Print this page
  • |   Bookmark and Share

Bubble Days For Online Video


Posted by Richard Martin, Apr 14, 2008 06:02 PM

As the National Association of Broadcasters convention gets under way this week in Las Vegas, I can confidently report that the online video space is now in full-on bubble mode.

Streaming video provider Move Networks said today that it has raised $46 million in a C round of venture financing, bringing its total haul since its creation a little over a year ago to $91.3 million. That compares with $86.2 million raised by Brightcove, a Move competitor that provides video platforms to U.K. media companies, including ITV, Channel 4, and guardian.co.uk, and the $160 million that Yahoo paid for Maven Networks earlier this year.

This is to say nothing of Web video software providers like Miro, Joost, Veoh, and Babelgum, or the mobile segment which is getting equally jammed. Last month's CTIA Wireless show was crowded with mobile video providers like MediaFlo, an offshoot of Qualcomm. AT&T just announced that it will finally launch its mobile video service, based on MediaFlo's technology, next month -- a full year behind Verizon Wireless' V-Cast service.

Get the idea? There are too many companies, with too many venture dollars, chasing too few tangible opportunities in this sector. Already a few online video startups, like Instant Media, have gone bust. For all the hype, the Web video game still pretty much starts and ends with YouTube.

At the NAB show, much of the talk for the beleaguered broadcast TV industry will be about new forms of online TV. But the fact is nobody is really making money at this yet.

Don't get me wrong: Web video is definitely coming, and it's going to be huge. Hulu, the joint Web-video venture between NBC Universal and News Corp., just said it has sold out its online ad inventory after being in business for just a month.

But a shakeout looms before the real party begins. Research and consulting firm Convergence Consulting Group just released a report saying that real profits from online video are years away, and advising cable companies and broadcasters not to quit their day jobs.

As one Web broadcasting exhibitor told me at CTIA, "For now, it's still mostly water-skiing squirrels."

« Live Mesh To Push Microsoft's Synchronization Strategy | Main | Mac Clone Maker Psystar Vows To Challenge Apple EULA »



Tomorrow's CIO: Do you have what it takes?
Find out at the 2008 InformationWeek 500 Conference
Sept. 14-16, St. Regis Resort, Monarch Beach, Calif.


Sign up now for the weekly InformationWeek Blog Newsletter.


This is a public forum. United Business Media and its affiliates are not responsible for and do not control what is posted herein. United Business Media makes no warranties or guarantees concerning any advice dispensed by its staff members or readers.

Community standards in this comment area do not permit hate language, excessive profanity, or other patently offensive language. Please be aware that all information posted to this comment area becomes the property of United Business Media LLC and may be edited and republished in print or electronic format as outlined in United Business Media's Terms of Service.

Important Note: This comment area is NOT intended for commercial messages or solicitations of business.






  1. Google Gets Chatty, Creates New iPhone Instant Messaging Program
  2. Powerset Grab Shows Microsoft's Commitment To Search
  3. Why Are So Many People Freaking Out About The Unlocked iPhone's $700 Price Tag?
  4. Vint Cerf Says Government Needs To Encourage Internet Competition
  5. An iPhone With A Slide-Out QWERTY?


  1. Apple Drops Price Of MacBook Air
  2. Google Employees Warned Of Data Breach At Benefits Company
  3. 'Containers' Out Perform Virtualization For KV Pharmaceuticals
  4. Mobile Music A $7.3 Billion Industry By 2011
  5. IBM Develops Audio Masking Technology To Protect Call Center Recordings
  6. IBM Back On Top Of Server Market

 
 

  Ars Technica
Boing Boing
Channel 9 Forums
CRN Blogs
Dr.Dobb's Portal: Blogs
Engadget
Gizmodo
GrokLaw
  Lifehacker
Schneier on Security
Slashdot
TechCrunch
Techdirt
Techmeme
Valleywag

  FEBRUARY 2008
JANUARY 2008
DECEMBER 2007
NOVEMBER 2007
OCTOBER 2007
SEPTEMBER 2007
AUGUST 2007
JULY 2007
  JUNE 2007
MAY 2007
APRIL 2007
MARCH 2007
FEBRUARY 2007
JANUARY 2007
DECEMBER 2006
NOVEMBER 2006