The 2007 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards Winners
Streaming Radio Solution
Live365
First runner-up: Abacast Ad Injection System
Second runner-up: Liquid Compass
The big news in internet radio was, of course, the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board’s decision to dramatically increase the royalty rates paid by both terrestrial radio stations with a web presence and by web-only netcasters. As of this writing, RIAA spinoff SoundExchange had agreed not to enforce those new royalties, which could very well kill off the majority of internet radio stations, until the legal and legislative wrangling is done. Many of those stations can be found on Live365.com, one of the first sites to realize that there might be money to be made in content aggregation rather than production, and to offer both free, ad-supported access and a subscription service with better sound quality and without commercials. Despite the proliferation of imitators, Live365 remains the leader.
Offering different kinds of streaming radio solutions are runners-up the Abacast Ad Injection System, which replaces terrestrial advertising with targeted ads or other content in the online stream, and Liquid Compass, which provides customized players, ad insertion, and other services that help terrestrial radio stations have a top-notch web presence.
Video Advertising Platform
SpotXchange
First runner-up: Digitalsmiths VideoSense
Second runner-up: Eyeblaster Ad Campaign Manager
The lack of standards for ad length, placement, and other factors continued to hinder the potential growth of online video advertising in 2007. On the other hand, a lack of standards opens the door to innovative approaches like SpotXchange. SpotXchange sets up a platform on which online video publishers can auction off available inventory to media buyers and advertisers who then bid on open slots. Once they purchased the slots, the advertisers can upload their commercials and target them by publisher, time of day, region, and category using SpotXchange’s self-serve Marketplace interface.
Targeting is, of course, the name of the game, and first runner-up Digitalsmiths VideoSense allows for automated matching between advertising and appropriate content based on metadata generated by its software. And nobody offers a more comprehensive ad solution than Eyeblaster’s Ad Campaign Manager, which collects the company’s established deployment and measurement tools into a seamless suite of applications.
Webcasting Appliance
Sonic Foundry Mediasite
First runner-up: NewTek TriCaster STUDIO
Second runner-up: Accordent Capture Station
Webcasting Platform
Sonic Foundry Mediasite
First runner-up: Netbriefings Proclaim
Second runner-up: VBrick VBExpress
Despite the fact that Sonic Foundry’s headquarters is mere blocks from Streaming Media’s offices in Madison, WI, the company’s victory in not just one but two categories has got nothing to do with home-field advantage and everything to do with Mediasite’s long history and broad customer base. From Sandia National Laboratories to Lockheed Martin to Clemson University, Mediasite has found a home in hundreds of locations across the globe because it offers a complete, turnkey, end-to-end capture/delivery/archive solution—the kind that, once it’s set up, even the most absent-minded professor (or CEO) can use.
Despite Mediasite’s runaway victory in both the Webcasting Appliance and Webcasting Platform categories, this space is one that’s rife with established, robust, and easy-to-use solutions. Accordent’s been at this for almost as long as Sonic Foundry has, and its Capture Station is right up there with Mediasite in terms of market penetration and name recognition. NewTek’s TriCaster STUDIO added live switching and virtual sets to that popular line of appliances, which really took off in 2007, as witnessed by their first runner-up showing in the Webcasting Appliance category.
In the Platform category, Netbriefings’ Proclaim is a relative newcomer that’s been able to capitalize on the company’s well-established econference tools, while VBrick continues to hold on to solid marketshare with its VBExpress.
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It's the most prestigious honor in the online video industry, because it's decided by thousands of StreamingMedia.com voters. Read on to see which companies are taking home a Readers' Choice Award.
02 Nov 2016
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