AP Selects New Technology Provider for Online Video Network
NEW YORK — The Associated Press has selected thePlatform, a Seattle-based video technology provider, to launch a more flexible, enhanced version of its Online Video Network, which distributes AP’s acclaimed video content to more than 2,000 newspaper, broadcast and other media Web sites throughout the U.S.
Rollout of the new technology platform, to be completed by December, will provide network affiliates with greater ability to showcase their own news video as well as to offer higher video quality for AP’s coverage of world events, which most recently included the Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. presidential campaign and the hurricanes that hit Haiti, Louisiana and Texas.
AP’s Online Video Network provides in-depth video reports specifically designed for viewing on the Internet. Brought to market in 2006, the network now reaches 61 million unduplicated unique visitors through its 2,100 affiliate sites.
The world’s largest news gathering organization, AP draws on its worldwide staff of journalists, a global network of news sources and a rich historical archive to create authoritative video clips of international and national events, entertainment, sports, and business news.
“We’ve been very aggressive in providing top stories and breaking news video coverage wherever it happens,” said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. “For instance, we chased half a dozen hurricanes over Florida and the Gulf Coast and produced scores of video clips including first-person accounts, extensive raw video and live streaming. We also made available to OVN affiliates last week never-before-seen 1973 video on the release of John McCain when he was a North Vietnam prisoner of war.”
OVN’s technology platform, initially provided by Microsoft, will now be licensed from thePlatform, an industry leader in the broadband video management and publishing market, which is a subsidiary of Comcast. In addition to offering enhanced content, AP will offer network affiliates for the first time a fully embeddable video player for video destination pages. The new system will also support higher video quality.
“For perspective, this is easily one of the largest online video initiatives to occur in 2008,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “In many ways, it’s like launching thousands of individual video sites at the same time, and we’re very proud to help the AP provide broader video coverage to millions of viewers.”
“The new version of the network will make it easier for our affiliates to incorporate compelling news video on their Web sites,” said Jane Seagrave, AP’s senior vice president of Global Product Development. “As video becomes the storytelling medium of choice on the Internet, we’re improving the content as well as the technical environment.”
About the AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world, to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.
About the Online Video Network
The AP Online Video Network is an ad-supported news video service that draws on the global news gathering resources of The Associated Press and its network of members and customers in the United States to provide video summaries of breaking news stories for Web sites.
On the Net: www.ap.org
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720