The AP has announced a new feature for its 1,800+ Online Video Network affiliates: the ability to syndicate their own video with the rest of the OVN network. Affiliates will get a cut of the ad revenue generated by their shared clips, and they can also restrict competitors from posting the video. Now, last month I posted an editorial that urged the AP and the network affiliate services to compensate local media for their original stories (which the AP reminded me when they sent me the press release.) The OVN syndication model seems like a step in the right direction. Press release…
PRESS RELEASE — The Associated Press today announced a new syndication feature to benefit over 1,800 media affiliates of its Online Video Network (OVN) service. Members uploading local video to their site’s player will now be able to share it with the rest of the network comprised of newspaper, TV and radio Web sites throughout the U.S. They will also be able to include video from other members in their own player.
“OVN affiliates will now have more control over the videos they see and share since they get to decide where their videos appear,†said Bill Burke, AP’s Director of Online Video. “We’ve designed a tool that makes it easy to create rules which determine where your local video will be displayed, essentially protecting it from unauthorized use.â€
The latest version of OVN includes one of the most sophisticated systems available for protecting the value of video assets. A new local video content management tool gives administrators complete control over which videos get uploaded, and allows Web sites to monetize their local video. If a member chooses to syndicate video, they will share in advertising revenue when other affiliates use it on their sites. Members get a percentage of ad revenue if their video is played on another player, as well as a share of revenue if they add other members’ videos to their player. At the same time, they can prevent news competitors in their market or region from having access to that video.
The Online Video Network, a turnkey solution for video on the Web, serves more than 1,800 newspaper, television and radio sites across the U.S. Powered by MSN technology and featuring exclusive AP content produced specifically for the Web, the Online Video Network is uniquely tailored for newspaper, TV, radio and digital markets, providing high-quality, in-depth reports from the world’s largest news gathering agency.