Brightcove Partners with LG for Connected TV Distribution
Declaring connected TVs to be the next big wave of streaming video distribution, online video platform Brightcove is partnering with LG Electronics and offering a reference application that will allow Brightcove's customers to easily stream their content to viewers using the LG NetCast platform.
"We think connected TV is one of the next interesting platforms to look at after mobile and portable," says Eric Elia, Brightcove's vice president of TV solutions.
Brightcove has previously made reference applications available for the Apple iOS and Google Android mobile platforms. This news is a sign of the growing interest in connected TVs.
The reference application will let customers with little or no design of development experience stream their content to LG connected sets through their own branded app. Customers with greater development skills, says Elia, will be able to create more customized experiences. The idea is to reduce cost and complexity in reaching connected TVs. Users will get the benefit of Brightcove's video analytics for content streamed to televisions. They'll also be able to use their existing ad relationships for their TV-streamed content.
To highlight the opportunity of connected TV, Elia cites Piper Jaffray research saying that in 2012, 220 million flat panels will be sold and over 100 million of those will have connected features.
"The significance is, if you look at the numbers in terms of living room platforms around the world, about 100 million by 2012. If you look at over-the-top boxes, you're probably going to tap out at about 5 million or so in that same time," Elia says.
The connected TV world is just as fragmented as the mobile video world, and not all those customers will be using LG's NetCast platform. Still, Elia guesses that millions of people will try the platform each year.
The Brightcove reference application will be available later in 2011, probably in the first half of the year, says Elia.
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