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thePlatform Expands Initiatives to Lower Total Cost of Operating a Broadband Video Business With Ingest Service

Posted on: Monday, 8 June 2009, 23:00 CDT

Robust technology developed specifically for large media companies with extensive or dynamic online video libraries

Media companies to use new service for fast and simple ingest of videos and associated metadata

Expands on company's recent efforts to lower delivery and storage costs for online video

SEATTLE, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today introduced a new video Ingest Service as part of the company's media publishing system (mps). Developed specifically to address the challenges of companies with large or dynamic video libraries, thePlatform's new Ingest Service reduces the costs and complexity of publishing video online. This effort builds on similar cost-saving initiatives for small and mid-sized media companies through its new content delivery network (CDN) and storage services, which thePlatform introduced earlier this year.

The new Ingest Service gives customers an easy, versatile and automatic means to move video and metadata online and into thePlatform's media publishing system (mps). The service addresses what thePlatform has found to be the three key criteria necessary to serve large media companies with best-in-class video ingest system capabilities. These include: 1) the ability to replace manual processes with an automatic means to upload new online video libraries; 2) constant monitoring of video files via "Watch Folders," which enable video to be ingested from files placed in an FTP folder, and/or a Feed Reader, which enables Media RSS to automatically ingest content; and 3) the use of ingest adaptors that convert various proprietary metadata formats into the industry standard, Media RSS. Each of these capabilities is a part of thePlatform's new service.

Media companies use thePlatform's media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. As tracked by comScore Video Metrix, thePlatform's clients had a combined total of more than 689 million video views in March of 2009. With thePlatform's advanced technology and market scale, the company is able to leverage its collective assets to dramatically lower the cost of running online video businesses for its customers.

"For media companies that want to publish their programming quickly to consumers, the first critical bottleneck is ingesting that video content into a system that can deliver it," said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. "Historically, this has been technologically difficult, time-intensive and expensive for many media companies. Our new Ingest Service helps remedy many of those issues."

"Given the nature of broadband video publishing, content providers with large video libraries, or constantly changing ones, are all facing new challenges," said Greg Ireland, research manager, Consumer Markets: Video, IDC. "Media companies with sizeable video content are looking to leading-edge technology and systems to enable the delivery of content to viewers, quickly and economically. The new Ingest Service is an important addition to thePlatform's media publishing system and should bring efficiencies to the broadband video business."

mpsManage Ingest

An optional service for customers of thePlatform's mps, the mpsManage Ingest Service gives customers a fast and simple way to place videos and associated metadata into the system for distribution. Key features and benefits include:

• One-time, easy setup: thePlatform will work with each customer to define an ingest profile, which specifies the metadata formats and content requirements. Content is then automatically loaded into mps.
• Multiple ingest formats: Supported formats include addContent, Media RSS, CSV and XML. Additional format adaptors can be built to meet various needs.
• Workflow support: Companies can use their existing video feeds to ingest content or set up a Watch Folder and content is ingested automatically from other systems.
• Bulk upload: Large content libraries can be uploaded in bulk, and it will process the files and metadata appropriately.
• Error Check: Detailed error logging provides analysis on the ingest process.

Additional information about the mpsManage Ingest Service can be found at www.thePlatform.com.

About thePlatform

thePlatform(TM) is the leading white-label video management and publishing company. Media companies use thePlatform's media publishing system (mps) as the open, central hub for managing, monetizing, and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. The company's services provide unmatched versatility for designing and supporting video businesses on PCs, mobile, and TV. Customers include BBC, Cablevision, CBS College Sports, CNBC, Comcast, Corus Entertainment, Cox Communications, ExerciseTV, Gannett/USA Today, HIT Entertainment, PBS, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, Starz, Time Warner Cable and numerous others. With an eight-year history of service, thePlatform is an independent subsidiary of Comcast based in Seattle, Washington. For more information: www.theplatform.com.

SOURCE thePlatform

Source: PR Newswire

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