White-Label Video Publishing: Guide To The Best Private Label Video Services
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Private label video publishing services allow professional web publishers to move beyond zero-cost video sharing sites like YouTube and onto video distribution services which guarantee faster transcoding, HD video quality, the option to schedule both VOD and scheduled programming, CDN-based distribution, ad management and integration as well as white-labeling and personalization of your video player.
Photo credit: Liubomyr Feshchyn and Christophe Testi mashed up by Robin Good - edited by Francesco Caruccio
If you are looking for solutions that would allow you to set up a professional web TV channel of some kind, one for which you have a budget to spend and hope to sell advertising and sponsorship for, you have no choice but look for a private label video publishing and distribution service.
The traditional free video sharing sites like YouTube, are great for uploading and distributing at zero cost your favorite video clips. Much less exciting is the moment when you want to start controlling the ads that are displayed on your video clips, or you want to set up a day-by-day video programming schedule while monitoring and analyzing traffic, views and clickthroughs.
This is why to move from amateur video sharing to professional video publishing you really need to consider seriously whether you have a budget to support the costs that such pro video distribution services require. The video services I review here have all some kind of monthly or yearly fee that is clearly not within the reach of the typical blogger or independent video-maker.
On the other hand what's the use of publishing tens of video clips and having hundreds of thousands of video views on YouTube if this provides very little return in terms of visibility and revenue for your business or web site?
The times are ripe for serious and economically capable video publishers to step up significantly above the generic, amateur Internet video publisher, and to strengthen their online video presence by providing extra quality, reliability, speed and monetization options which are so critical to their own future survival.
In this MasterNewMedia guide I have selected, reviewed and compared for you the best white-label video publishing and distribution platforms available out there, while paying particular attention to their key traits, strengths and weaknesses.
This is an area that will see fast growth and many new entrants in the near future due to the increasing demand for quality video channels and the need for many video sharing sites to start earning back their rapidly escalating bandwidth and storage costs.
If you are into video publishing or are considering the move from amateur to professional video publishing, this guide can help you get a comprehensive view of this new market and of the traits and features that characterize the first group of providers competing to get your attention.
Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms Comparison Table
Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms
Brightcove
Brightcove is an on-demand video platform to distribute and monetize your online video inventory. The web-based Brightcove Studio lets you create branded videos with your logo and monetize your clips trough advertising campaigns. Brightcove players are fully customizable to match the layout of your web pages and also maintain optimal quality whatever device or internet connection video you choose. Videos can be re-distributed and embedded across any website, even using widgets. Videos streamed are encoded with H.264 and VP6 codecs and range from low-quality till HD. You can also program video broadcasting using playlist creation facilities. You keep total control over the ads you show with your videos by choosing ad units, insertion points, frequency, relevance. You can also integrate your ad servers and ad networks to serve ads with your videos. Custom reports are generated by Brightcove to help you track the performance of your clips. To get a price quote (on an annual contract basis) you have to contact Brightcove sales.
http://www.brightcove.com/
Livestream
Livestream is an online video platform that broadcasts live and on-demand videos. The premium account is priced at $350 and allows you to have a white-label channel to deliver videos with your own brand logo or watermark. Using a web-based interface, you can fully customize the size and look of your video player and also configure the redistribution of your videos; allow only specific audiences to view your clips or even disable sharing if you prefer. A list of ready-made templates for your channel is available and the integrated user chat allows broadcasters and their audience to communicate in real-time. Videos are encoded with Sorensen Spark (Flash 7) specifications and HD is supported. You can create a video playlist with the Autopilot feature to broadcast your videos 24/7 automatically. For optimal video encoding Livestream recommends around 700Kbps of upstream bandwidth. Livestream also provides an analytics tool that tracks and reports the performance of your videos. Advertising is supported and your ads are integrated inside channels using overlays that can be either served by you or by integrating ad servers and ad networks into your video production workflow.
http://livestream.com/
Watershed
Watershed is the white-label version of Ustream interactive broadcasting platform. Watershed allows you to publish and distribute ad-free, branded videos to your audience both on web pages or mobile phones. Live streaming broadcasting is also supported. The video player is fully customizable and your videos can be password-protected or limited in number of views from your web-based Administrator control panel. HD videos are supported. You can also interact live with your audience via text chat, real-time polls or co-hosted broadcast feeds. Watershed does not support self-served or third-party-served ads on your videos. Reports are generated to take care of the performance of your clips. No video programming. Two pricing options are available: monthly-based plans starting from $49 and a pay-as-you-go pricing model that charges for monthly or hourly views by a single user. No encoding info provided.
http://watershed.ustream.tv/
Glomera
Glomera is a web TV platform that helps you broadcast live and on-demand videos with your own logo. You can pull video from YouTube to broadcast inside your channel or create niche-targeted compilations to redistribute on third-party websites. With Glomera "Total embed" option, you can also embed the whole Glomera platform on any website and start offering a professional video platform at no cost. Video channels are fully customizable to match the look of any web page. The scheduling feature lets you organize your web TV programs in a daily, weekly, or season-long programming. HD videos are supported and videos are encoded using FLV specifications. Web TV channels you build with Glomera Premium account are ads-free and you cannot serve third-party ads. The reporting feature allows you track the performance of your clips. Glomera Premium account is priced at €199/month. You can also purchase additional interactivity options for your channels like: rating, comments, on-demand video list, guide-programming, and more.
http://www.glomera.com/
Ooyala
Ooyala has developed Backlot, a scalable video platform with content syndication controls and monetization features. Video quality is preserved to match your syndication relationships (web pages, video-sharing sites, mobile devices, or other). Backlot video player supports overlays with our logo / watermarks and is fully customizable. You can arrange your clips in playlists and program the broadcast with no operation needed from your side. Videos are encoded in H.264 format and HD video is supported. A video metrics report is generated to help you monitor the performances of your videos. Backlot manages also ad insertion points, frequency and the different ad units like pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll and interactive which are served with your clips. Third party ad servers and ad networks are also supported. Prices depend on the campaign; more info contacting Ooyala sales department.
http://www.ooyala.com/
Vmix
Vmix provides web-based video and image publishing solutions to distribute and monetize your content. You can brand your clips, serve ads with your videos and also track the performance of your channels. Videos are encoded in H.264 / FLV and distributed at optimal resolution to websites, mobile phones and portable devices using customizable players, widgets and applications. Vmix has support for HD videos too. A list of ready-made templates is available. Your audience can also interact with your videos using ratings, sharing, or video / text commenting tools. Scheduled playlists are automatically created to operate your video channel without human input. You can customize ad-serving procedures on your videos using different ad units (pre-roll, post-roll, overlays and also animated ad units), insertion points and frequency. You can bring your own ad server / ad network to serve ads inside your video clips. Pricing is subjected to distribution campaign you choose; more info on Vmix corporate website.
http://vmix.com
PermissionTV
PermissionTV offers a web-based solution to manage and monetize your online video inventory. You can choose between different player solutions that are freely customizable and redistributable on any web page. Viewers can interact with your video content by clicking on graphics, surveys or advertisement overlays and pop-ups. You can also create video playlists and deploy niche-targeted channels to your audience. Ad networks integrate with your videos to serve contextual ads using pre-roll, post-roll and mid-roll ad units. No info is provided about the encoding codec used for your videos, but HD is supported. No programming feature available. Pricing details available upon request to PermissionTV sales department.
http://www.permissiontv.com/
Twistage
Hosted video platform Twistage allows you to create customizable video players with your own logo to embed on any website. Twistage integrates with your existing content management system (e.g. a blogging platform) or content delivery network. Videos are delivered to match the internet connection requirements of viewers; the video platform promises "uninterrupted delivery regardless of your site's traffic demands". Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and HD is supported. Video player is fully customizable to match the look of any web page. You can create a video playlist to broadcast your videos in sequence. Ads on your videos are served using different ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, mid-roll, overlay and in-page banner advertising. You can also bring your ad server or ad network to provide your ads. Analytics reporting allows you to track the earnings and spread of your videos on the web, but also which portions of your videos are the most viewed. No programming features. A free trial is available. Contact Twistage sales department for pricing options.
http://www.twistage.com/
Castfire
Castfire allows white-label video publishing so you can distribute and monetize your own videos using your logo / watermark. You can take control of the video production workflow and customize your player, ad serving procedures, viral redistribution, and much more through a web-based interface. A single video upload automatically generates multiple video formats to match your distribution needs and maintain good quality either on mobile phones, iPods, media box sets, HD-compatible TVs and more. Videos are encoded complying with H.264 specifications. Castfire has partnered with the automated video distribution service TubeMogul and allows you to distribute your clips on multiple video-sharing sites and also track precisely the performance of your video. You can also schedule and broadcast your videos without any user input. Ads can be served by third-party ad networks or ad servers using pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll units. Prices depend on the distribution campaign you choose; contact a Castfire representative for more details.
http://www.castfire.com/
Delve Networks
Delve Networks provides a online video solution to manage, publish, measure, and monetize your video content. With a web-based management tool you can create an embeddable player that matches the look of your website and is freely redistributable over any web page. The player also auto-adjusts the video quality for best results with every internet connection. The codec used to encode videos is H.264 and HD is supported. You can offer your users the ability to search inside your videos for topics of interests; a heatmap shows the portion of video that corresponds to a specific topic. Delve Networks also provides analytics features to track the performance of your clips, but you can also use Google Analytics to monitor your video content. No video programming though you can broadcast video playlists. Advertising capabilities include the integration with ad servers and ad networks. Ad units options you can choose to serve your videos are pre-roll, post-roll and "random". You can also set the frequency your ads are served and specify the ad insertion points. A 30-days trial is available yo test the service. For pricing options, you have to contact the sales department at Delve Networks.
http://www.delvenetworks.com/
VideoBloom
The Premium plan of VideoBloom ($299) allows you to deliver and monetize online videos with your brand logo using a dedicated player. The player is fully customizable and you can also redistribute and embed your videos on any website or social media page. Videos are encoded using MPEG4 specifications, also in HD format. VideoBloom claims that your videos are deployed to match the different internet connection speeds of your viewers while maintaining optimal video quality. Video playlists are available to broadcast niche-targeted compilations. No video programming. You can use different ad units to monetize your videos: pre-roll-post-roll, overlays, skin ads (for your video player) and companion ads. The analytics tool measures the popularity of your video on the web as well as your earnings through a web-based dashboard.
http://www.videobloom.com/
MonetizeMedia
A live streaming and on-demand video publishing platform, Monetize Media allows you to distribute and monetize your video assets. Through a web-based interface you can arrange your video, organize playlists and insert advertising inside your clips. You cannot schedule playlist broadcasting for the time being, but you can pull videos from most popular video sharing sites to add to your custom channels. HD videos are supported. You have a list of ready-made video players at your disposal that you can also customize and scale to match perfectly any web page or mobile device. All video players offer chat, ratings, comments, social network sharing, social media tags, and RSS functionalities. Video players also detect the connection of your viewers to auto-adjust video resolution. You can set your videos for public or private access. Monetize Media supports online ad units such as banner, in-stream, overlay and pre-roll ads. Ad network integration is allowed to serve third-party ads. You can deploy your video on a pay-per-view basis and receive payments using your PayPal account. Performance reports are available to track the popularity and monetization goals of your videos. No encoding info is provided. Gold plan is priced at $1199/month plus a one-time setup charge of $500. A free trial is available to test the service.
http://www.monetizemedia.com/
BitGravity
BitGravity is a content delivery network that provides delivery of on-demand video and live streaming broadcasts. The service takes care of distributing your videos but is not aimed to monetize your video assets with advertising campaigns. Codec used for videos is H.264 and HD is supported. There is no custom video player provided, but customers are free to modify the API of the Flash player to match their production needs. No video programming or analytics features. For further info you have to contact a BitGravity representative.
http://www.bitgravity.com/
GizmoUTube.TV ***DEAD
GizmoUTube.TV is a white-label video platform that allows you to broadcast either on-demand and live streaming shows. GizmoUTube.TV provides a customizable video player which supports HD, interactive video search and redistribution on third-party websites. Videos are encoded in Flash H.264 and VP6 formats. Ad integration is not supported for the time being. For $1999/year you get a .TV domain name and 1GB of storage space per month. Expenses for bandwidth traffic are managed by Bits On The Run and payed separately. No programming available. More info on corporate website.
http://www.gizmovideo.com/gizmoutube.tv/
The FeedRoom
The FeedRoom is an online video platform that helps you create and distribute niche-targeted video channels out of your online video inventory. Different customizable video players are available to help you find the correct matching with the look of your website. Players are also scalable, redistributable and allow user interaction with rating and commenting features. HD videos are supported. Reporting functions tell you who is tuning in, what and how much they are watching, and an understanding of which sources are driving traffic to your site. With The FeedRoom you can also monetize your video assets by offering online subscription, pay-per-view programming or by integrating advertising features. The platform has support for all popular ad formats, including in-stream pre-rolls, post-rolls and banners, as well as contextual targeting ads. You can also rely on ad networks partnered with The FeedRoom to serve third-party ads on your videos. No programming feature and no encoding info is available. You need to contact the company for available pricing solutions.
http://www.feedroom.com/
BestTV
BestTV provides fully customizable Internet TV channels to distribute and monetize your video content. You can either broadcast white-label live streaming shows and on-demand videos on PCs, set-top boxes or mobile phones. You have also the option to create targeted playlists but not schedule a playlist to be broadcast without user input. HD videos are supported. You can monetize your video assets using both subscriptions and advertising options. Regarding advertising, you can employ pre-roll, post-roll and banner ads while setting ads frequency and capping to achieve optimal results. Ad networks can be integrated to serve third-party ads with your video content. Detailed reports are available to track your advertising campaigns and video performances. No encoding info is provided. To get a quote for BestTV solutions contact a company representative.
http://www.best-tv.com/
Kaltura
Kaltura is an open source online video platform that allows you to manage, distribute and monetize your online video inventory using open standards. You can also import third-party video content from other websites or video-sharing sites, add your videos and create custom playlists to engage your audience. You can schedule your playlist for broadcasting without input and also take advantage of advanced features like: remix and annotate your videos, add text slides, translations, and much more. When you have your content ready, your video is encoded using FLV and H.264 codec (HD supported) and then published using a customizable widget player that matches the look of your website. Powered by Gyga, your widget player is freely redistributable on any website or social media sites. Kaltura also has pre-integrated solutions for WordPress, Drupal and MediaWiki sites (free up to 10 GB of streaming & hosting). You can allow viewers to download your video player for offline viewing or broadcast private shows. Kaltura has partnered with ad networks to help you show ads with your video content that comply with IAB standards. Detailed statistics and analytics of your online video offering are also generated for your video campaigns. Contact Kaltura sales department for price quotes or to get a free trial. The company offers also a self-hosted version of the platform that publishers can download for free and host behind their own firewall.
http://corp.kaltura.com/
KIT digital
KIT digital provides solutions manage, publish and monetize your online video assets. Videos can be offered on-demand on websites or mobile devices and you can put your own logo to represent your company. Video players offered by KIT digital can be fully customized, redistributed and shared on any web page. No info on HD support or video encoding. To capitalize on your video inventory you can serve ads with your content, even integrating your ad networks. Ad units accepted are: pre-roll, post roll, companion banners and flash overlay ads. Alternative revenue channels supported are: subscriptions, DTO (download to own), VOD (video on demand), and PPV (pay per view), pay per click and pay-as-you-view (per second / per frame). Detailed reports are generated to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Contact KIT digital for pricing info.
http://www.kitd.com/
SOFTing K.iTV
K.iTV from SOFTing is designed to assist content providers with all key functions associated with managing online video: content uploading, cataloging, tracking and maintenance, advertising, analysis, billing and paying. You can either offer on-demand or live content. Once uploading your content you can take advantage of fully customizable video players that also allow you to create scheduled playlists to broadcast without any input from the user. A list of ready-made templates is available if you do not have specific customization needs. Advertising is supported with most common ad units: pre-roll, post-roll, in-stream, image & flash banners. Third-party ad network integration is not supported. Other monetization strategies include billing and subscriptions. Contact SOFTing support for pricing details.
http://eng.eu-softing.com/
Sorenson Video Delivery Network
Sorenson Video Delivery Network is a white-label video publishing platform that helps you manage and monetize your video assets. Video you upload are encoded using either Spark, VP& or H.264 codec and HD is supported. You can then syndicate your video to any website pasting a piece of HTML code or directly to iPhone models. A custom WordPress plugin is also available. You have multiple players to choose from that you can scale to match your publishing needs. Video players available have all a permalink but do not support playlist creation nor scheduling. Analytics features give you a real-time snapshot of audience engagement. Advertising is not supported for the time being. Pricing starts from $99/month for 1,000 streams and up to 20 minute videos. Free trial available.
http://www.sorensonmedia.com/video-delivery-network/
VideoPublishing
VideoPublishing is a white-label platform that lets you manage and deliver your video content. You can customize a broad range of video players to the colors and style of your firm and website. Videos are encoded using H.264 specifications and are scaled to match their destination (up to HD quality). All videos you manage and deliver can be converted in different formats and monitored to evaluate their performances. Tough VideoPublishing does not offer any ad integration or control, you can freely integrate your third-party ad networks if you want to run ads against your videos. Pricing starts from $49/month and 200 hours of streaming per month. Free trial available.
http://videopublishing.com/
Quick.tv
Quick.tv is a white-label video platform that allows you to manage and monetize your video inventory. The player you get is scalable, fully customizable and allows you to display your company logo, interactive images or promotional banners your viewers can click. Each player is also redistributable using the embed code or via e-mail if you set this option. You can also create niche-targeted playlists to display in a single player window, but not schedule the release of each video. HD is supported. Quick.tv runs ads on your videos using DoubleClick, but you can also bring your own ad network to serve advertisement in the most common formats like pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll. Pricing plans start from $120/month for 750 playout minutes in standard video quality and each video must be up to 5 mins. No info provided on encoding procedures.
http://www.quick.tv/
Vzaar
Vzaar is a video publishing platform that allows you to embed unbranded video players on your site. You can choose among different sizes for your player and either stream your clips in standard quality (FLV, H.263) or HD (MP4, H.264). Other player options include: set borders, set color, display in-stream text and hyperlinks. Vzaar also integrates with eBay so you can post your videos to the popular auction site directly right away. Worth mentioning is the "replace" function whereby you can substitute an embedded video with a new one from your inventory without pasting again the embed code. Different pricing plans are available, but to have an unbranded player you need to start from the Bronze plan. The Bronze plan costs $10/month for 5GB of online storage, advanced player settings and improved ranking inside Google search results. No programming or custom ads control.
http://www.vzaar.com
Magnify.net
Magnify.net is a white-label video publishing platform that allows you to integrate user-generated video, video that you produce, or video that you discover into your own web site. Video players offered by Magnify.net are fully customizable and scalable to your needs. Video players are also redistributable and can be shared on any web page or social media site. Videos are encoded using FLV / VP6 codec. To capitalize on your video inventory, you can serve ads with your content, even by integrating your ad networks (this option is currently reserved to enterprise customers only). The analytics feature allows you to track your earnings and the performances of your videos. No video programming. Pro packages of Magnify.net start from $249/month and allow you to have a customizable branding channel, custom watermarks, a custom graphic package, up to 250 videos you can upload and a 50 / 50 revenue split on ad banners.
http://www.magnify.net/
MultiCast
Multicast is a white-label video distribution platform that broadcasts both live and on-demand videos. Multicast provides 80 customizable video players which supports redistribution on third-party websites and also ad display if you integrate Multicast with third-party ad networks like OpenX or Real Media. The video platform can also be used to distribute videos to mobile devices like the iPhone. All videos deployed are encoded in Flash H.264 format. No programming is available, nor HD videos are supported. For pricing plans you must contact a sales representative. More info on corporate website.
Originally prepared by Robin Good and Daniele Bazzano for MasterNewMedia, and first published on July 6th, 2009 as "Professional White-label Video Publishing Platforms: Guide To The Best Services".
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