Brightcove, the leading global provider of cloud content services, today announced the general availability of a comprehensive monetization solution for HTML5 video, including support for VAST-compliant pre-, mid- and post-roll ads, a new HTML5 video player API for dynamically setting and changing ad policies, and HTML5 video plugin support for leading ad servers from FreeWheel, Google, Videoplaza and YuMe. With today's announcement, the Brightcove Video Cloud online video platform provides ad-supported media companies with a full suite of capabilities required to reliably and consistently maximize the revenue potential of their online video initiatives across desktops, mobile devices, and a diverse universe of operating systems and Web browsers.

In the past year, viewership of ad-supported, rights-managed video content on smartphones increased nearly eight times year over year, and tablets have become the go-to mobile devices for viewing episodic video content.^[1] In order to maximize the advertising revenue potential of this fast-growing audience, media companies need to not only ensure their video and advertising works across all devices, operating systems and browsers, but they also need the flexibility to choose the best ad servers that fit their business and enable them to target advertising in flexible ways. It is crucial that these organizations have pre-, mid- and post-roll ad options that work consistently across HTML5 devices and platforms, including popular new smartphones and tablets, as well as player APIs that enables customers to target advertising appropriately.

"Media companies today must have confidence that their online video platform can address the ever changing landscape of monetization opportunities across a wide range of screens and devices," said Chris Johnston, vice president of digital media solutions at Brightcove. "From early on, Brightcove has invested heavily in building a strong ecosystem of HTML5 advertising partners and a flexible, open architecture that makes it easy for partners to integrate with our platform. We are committed to helping our media customers future-proof their online video advertising initiatives and ensure they can consistently and reliably reach their audiences and generate the most revenue."

Over the past year, Brightcove has invested in its Smart Player framework, adding an abstraction layer that automatically adapts the video experience to account for operating system and browser inconsistencies. Brightcove's Smart Players give media companies confidence that their ad integrations will work consistently and reliably across both HTML5 and Flash-based desktops and mobile devices, while also making it easy for advertising partners to build integrations. The Video Cloud platform now provides HTML5 video plugin support for ad servers from FreeWheel, Videoplaza and YuMe, as well as for Flash video support across more than 30 other ad servers and networks.

Video Cloud also became the first online video platform to support Google's IMA3 SDK on both Flash and HTML5, enabling publishers to take advantage of advanced features in the DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP) video module.

"With the growth of online video and traditional television extending to new devices, it is imperative that the necessary partnerships and technologies evolve to serve the fragmented viewing environments in which consumers now view content," said Brent Horowitz, FreeWheel's vice president of business development and corporate strategy. "Brightcove plays a critical role in our network of over 100 partner companies, all of whom work with FreeWheel to not only make new advertising experiences technically possible, but also operationally consistent in a way that allows the world's largest entertainment companies to maximize the revenue potential of new content consumption channels."

"Today's audience consumes video across a vast array of platforms and runtimes and enabling publishers to plan, target and deliver video advertising across these environments is the hallmark of our Karbon platform," said Rags Gupta, CCO at Videoplaza. "Our close partnership with Brightcove and deep integration with Video Cloud ensures that our many common customers can reach, monetize and measure their audience consistently and reliably on both HTML5 and Flash-based platforms."

"Media companies need to ensure that they are maximizing the revenue and impact of their video content, regardless of the device on which it's played," said Bryan Everett, EVP of Business Development at YuMe. "Brightcove's support for HTML5 video advertising using YuMe's integration enables access to the YuMe for Publishers (YFP) multi-platform ad management system, as well as to top TV brand advertisers from our Connected Audience Network (CAN). It's a win for everyone involved."

The Smart Player framework also enables media customers to future-proof their online video investments and advertising strategies by providing support for new platforms and operating systems as they come to market, such as Windows 8. Video Cloud's innovative abstraction layer removes all the complexity and development overhead from users. As a result, Video Cloud players continued to work at the launch of Windows 8, which does not support third party plugins like Flash, without effort required by customers and all while preserving their existing ad integrations.