Online
video publishing company thePlatform has taken its mpx video management
system out of beta testing and formally released it. The move is
notable mpx will make it easier to deliver more content to more devices
and because thePlatform, which is an independent subsidiary of Comcast,
plays a key role in the TV Everywhere initiatives of a number of major
MSOs.
Currently thePlatform works with such
providers as Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision, Cox and Rogers,
that are already making tens of thousands of titles of TV programs
available online to multichannel subscribers. The newly released mpx
platform will make it easier for those operators to deliver that content
to other devices like smart phones and the iPad.
"The
biggest development is that we will make it much easier to deliver
content to more devices," explains thePlatform CEO Ian Blaine in an
interview. "The promise of TV Everywhere is the everywhere part, which
means getting content to more devices. That hasn't been as easy as it
should be because different devices require different formats and
different media protection schemes. This new release addresses that
complexity and makes it simple for content owners and distributors to
deliver content to more places."
Besides make
it easier to deliver content to both online and mobile devices, the new
platform will enable clients to deliver program to the traditional TV
VOD platform, Blaine notes. "It positions us as a single course to push
content to use about anywhere," he says.
The
company began working on mpx in 2007, when they were on track to manage
about one billion video views with their old platform mps. Realizing
that they would eventually be handling more content than mps could
easily accommodate, they began developing a new platform, which they
began beta testing in February of 2010. An updated version was launched
in August and what the company is called the "gold release" occurred on
October 12.
Currently, thePlatform is handling
"several billion" media requests a year and that some of the operators
involved in TV Everywhere are offering "tens of thousands of titles" to
their subscribers online, Blaine says. He expects the number of titles
in some of those TV Everywhere offerings to eventually hit "six figures"
and that usage will also climb as users can access content on more
devices.
Being able to hand much large amounts
of video, also will make it easier to handle more HD video and larger
file sizes, Blaine adds.
The new platform
features a number of tools to improve the management of content so that
it can be better tracked and monetized, Blaine stressed. While mpx can
handle all existing business models-from authentication in the TV
Everywhere platforms, to pay per view and pure advertising-Blaine notes
that it will help their clients develop their advertising revenues.
"It
will allow them to more effectively monetize their advertising and as
they do that we will start to see more of a model [for TV Everywhere]
that looks like traditional cable television where you have certainly
making money from subscriber fees but also from advertising," he noted.
