It took video blogging pioneer Ze Frank less than eight hours to achieve his funding goal of $50,000 on Kickstarter yesterday. Now he’s already working on planing the relaunch of his show, which is currently scheduled to debut at the end of March. Read more »
News agencies that want to cover events happening in restricted parts of the world have had few options for licensing high-quality content. Cont3nt.com is trying to solve that problem, with a platform to discover and license videos shot by local professionals. Read more »
Mobile operators might as well give in and work with web companies. But if they are smart they will adapt their pricing before consumers start dumping texting and voice services, so they can still maintain the same wallet share (and maybe higher margins). Read more »
The most notable thing about gamer-focused web video network Machinima isn’t its 1.3 billion monthly video views and 149 million uniques. It’s this — getting people to watch drama online, by making sure its drama series will directly appeal to its audience. Read more »
A new platform has emerged to create converged applications between the TV, PCs and mobile devices. Clik, which released a mobile app that can connect to any screen with a browser, is also releasing smart TV platform for developers. Read more »
When it comes to the future of music, we all like to talk about Spotify, file sharing and the decline of the CD. But those flashy stories may distract us from a much bigger trend – a trend that is powered by CMS systems and CRMs. Read more »
Add Amazon Studios to the list of online video providers that could soon release some new original programming. The company is looking to hire creative executives to develop and produce original comedies and kids shows for online and traditional distribution. Read more »
The Nowbox iPad app takes a unique approach to discovering new videos on the iPad. It lets viewers surf through channels of web video on the iPad in the same way they would click through channels on their TVs. Read more »
YouTube is making a massive investment in original programming. But as it increases the value of the content being produced and uploaded, it needs to get better about helping viewers find it. To do that, YouTube will need to step beyond search tackle the discovery challenge. Read more »
YouTube isn’t just about cat videos anymore: Educational content has been growing rapidly on the site, with views of educational videos doubling in 2011. Google is investing some of its money to give videos about biology and world history a more professional look and feel. Read more »
While much of YouTube’s monetization efforts have been based on advertising, CEO Salar Kamangar said the company could potentially create a service that could enable content providers to create their own subscription-based video offerings on the YouTube platform. Read more »
It’s clear that Pinterest is really hot, but a new study shows just how powerful the virtual pinboard company has become. Pinterest is now driving more referral traffic on the web than Google+, YouTube, Reddit, and LinkedIn combined, according to Shareaholic’s January 2012 Referral Traffic Report. Read more »
Vimeo has redesigned its website, with a much larger player and multiple features aimed at improving navigation and discovery. Built with its user base in mind, the new Vimeo has less clutter and is a lot faster when it comes to loading pages and finding videos. Read more »
Google SVP of ads Susan Wojcicki said on the company’s earnings call that 60 percent of all video ads that appear on YouTube are TrueView ads, meaning that viewers can skip it and move on to the video if it’s not relevant or interesting. Read more »
YouTube’s addition of over 100 premium original channels is well underway. The latest group of channels to join comes from the action sports vertical, which will finally give skateboarding, surfing and other extreme sports fans a place to catch up on moves in the industry. Read more »
Chill.com has all but abandoned its Turntable.fm-like group chat rooms and is now focusing squarely on social video discovery. The startup’s founder Brian Norgard likened the new approach to the way people interact with content in media-focused social networks like Instagram and Path. Read more »
Online video chat provider Yowie is boosting its social presence, with a Facebook app that will let individual users talk to one another while sharing interesting videos. The app differentiates itself by ranking users based on videos they share and their behavior in chat rooms. Read more »
Hulu is launching its first original scripted show just days before Netflix will unveil its first stab at an original TV show. Both companies are part of a bigger movement toward original online programming that includes new ways of funding as well as distribution. Read more »
Netflix wants to recover from a disastrous few months by launching in the U.K. and Ireland — but the company will have to overcome many obstacles to achieve success, not least competition from broadcasters who have very different priorities from their American counterparts. Read more »
Dijit’s new iPad app expands on mobile features that were already available by taking advantage of the tablet’s larger screen. Viewers can access local TV listings, get recommendations from their Facebook friends, and gather more information about the cast and crew of the shows they’re watching. Read more »
Pinterest is one of the hottest startups around these days and represents the latest buzzword in the Valley: curation. Here are some of my thoughts on why Pinterest and other such companies are getting attention and gaining traction with younger Internet users. Read more »
Amazon is hiring techies for a new digital media services push. The company seeks senior development managers and developers for a “brand new team,” although their work will grow out of an existing AWS digital media offering, according to a job post. Read more »
New antipiracy legislation recently proposed in Congress and known as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) could force YouTube and other “user-generated content” sites to take content down, even if that content has not been proven to be infringing. Experts in freedom of speech and creators ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Sources have confirmed that work on an iPad app specially designed for British Prime Minister David Cameron has been underway for several months — and that, once completed, officials plan to make it available to the public. Read more »
Got a Roku media streamer as a gift this holiday season? Then check out this guide for some essential tips on how to set it up, what content to watch, how to get additional channels not listed in the Roku store, and what accessories to buy. Read more »
Today, TV might be where people go to be entertained. But make no mistake about it: New entrants are building audiences without being burdened by the cost structure of the traditional TV ecosystem, making them more nimble and a potential threat to bigger media players. Read more »
Veoh.com may be just a shell of its former self these days, but the video site and its former investors nonetheless scored another court victory against Universal Music this week. An appeals court reaffirmed the decision that Veoh is protected by the DMCA. Read more »
TV viewership is still on the rise, with the typical American watching five hours a day now, according to research by Nielsen. That hasn’t slowed the growth of online video: In fact, the amount of content streamed is accelerating, too. While it hasn’t yet made a ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »
The IAWTV hit a major milestone in its evolution this week with the announcement of the first-ever nominees for the IAWTV Awards, honoring excellence in web video content and representing the web series world with a strong mix of independent and professionally-produced content. Read more »
