Unicorn’s Media-as-a-Service™ solution is extending its reach to the living room.

We’ve announced this week added platform support for the Roku streaming media player from Roku, Inc. – a leading supplier of innovative and easy to use digital media products.

The Roku platform currently offers customers over 30 channels of entertainment content that can be easily added to the home viewing experience, including popular movies and TV shows, live sports, music, photo viewing and much more. Unicorn Media platform customers can now easily reach Roku owners as part of their syndication and distribution strategy.

Adding support for the Roku player to our comprehensive selection of video management tools for content distribution was a logical next step, and the Unicorn team is excited about reaching the ever-growing, online-connected TV audience.  We look forward to possibilities for future innovations that can be leveraged on the Roku platform.

For the full release, visit us here.

We’ve been talking a lot lately about driving profitability and how Unicorn’s analytics technology was built to increase customer profits by giving content owners unfettered access to a vast amount of online video data – in real-time.

Unicorn Media has integrated Quova Inc.’s high quality location data into our offerings, enhancing our video analytics technology and delivering highly targeted, real-time information using IP intelligence.

Now, with the recent announcement of our partnership with Quova, in addition to the unprecedented amount of data we make available, Unicorn customers will have the ability to determine the location of any anonymous website visitor.

The implications of integrating Quova’s technology into Unicorn’s Media-as-a-Service™ solution are huge.  Using Quova’s geolocation data, Unicorn customers can serve relevant, targeted ads with content people care about – based on their location. Coupled with the ability to geofence content inside regions supported by advertising or sponsorship, this level of targeting results in more successful click-through rates and increased sales for Unicorn customers. For example, after integrating Quova’s geolocation intelligence into their website, Continental Airlines witnessed a 200% uplift in banner advert conversions.

Can’t argue with those numbers!

We’re thrilled about our partnership with Quova and what it will continue to bring to Unicorn Media customers.

This week, The Diffusion Group announced new research that predicts that Internet video viewing will trump broadcast TV by 2020.  It’s a bold statement to make, but according to Colin Dixon, senior partner and co-author of TDG’s new report, there’s good reason to believe that this estimate is realistic:

“Keep in mind that during this period, Internet and broadcast delivery of video content will become blended i such a way that consumers will be unaware of which conduit serves which content.  Because so much of their audience will be consuming online, it is more important than ever that cable and broadcast channels increase their presence online.”

According to TGD data, the amount of time spent viewing TV has remained relatively stable, while the amount of time consumers spent watching online video increased 84% between 2008 and 2009 with predictions that this rate of growth will actually increase over the next 5-7 years.

Earlier this week I mentioned – within the context of the vitality of finding ways to drive profitability through online video initiatives – that online video may soon become the very lifeline of media publishers.  TGD’s new data certainly supports that claim, and foreshadows an exciting, albeit challenging, time for media publishers and content providers of all types in the coming years.  As a leading technology provider, Unicorn is committed to overcoming the challenges media publishers will continue to face in the execution of their online video initiatives. Bring on the online video!

On Wednesday, Google announced the much anticipated release of VP8 and the WebM Project, a community effort to develop a world-class media format for the open web.  VP8, the high-quality video codec, adapts to varying processing and bandwidth conditions and is available royalty-free.

The team here at Unicorn Media is pleased to announce its support of VP8 as a part of our ongoing commitment to support the widest array of video delivery technology.

Unicorn Media’s transcoding architecture currently supports virtually any codec or format for maximum flexibility, and we look forward to continuing that commitment in throwing our support behind the WebM Project.

Questions about how Unicorn Media can help you utilize VP8?  Drop us a note here, or contact your Media Services Consultant.

For the full release, visit us here.

Finding effective ways to monetize online video has been a thorn in the side of most video publishers.  There are, of course, several ways touted as effective monetization strategies: pre, mid, and post-roll advertisements, subscriptions, and pay-per-view models – each with its own advantages and pitfalls.

Whatever model an organization chooses to utilize, how can it ensure that its monetization strategy sits well within the borders of profit?  As an industry we discuss again and again how, why, and if online video can be monetized.  (I won’t get into those discussions now; that’s for another post.)  But how often do we talk about profitability? Or how organizations can drive profit using online video?

For smaller companies who may be using online video or marketing or brand awareness purposes, covering delivery costs using a monetization strategy, or off-setting those costs with increased sales, might be enough.  But for larger video publishing organizations, online video may soon become a part of their lifeline.  Profitability, especially for these organizations, is vital.

In the current ecosystem, it’s difficult for these organizations to effectively discern whether or not their online video is really making them any money. Throw in the large amount of time and resources it takes to analyze their online video initiatives, and media publishers find themselves between a rock and a hard place: continue initiatives with very little valuable or outdated analysis or throw more time and money out the door.

In an effort to help solve this problem for media companies – of all sizes – Unicorn Media now offers its real-time analytics as a stand-alone offer.  Our ground-breaking UMedia Analytics™ is now available for any platform.  Now any content owner has the ability to gain valuable insight into the performance of their online media assets and make changes that affect their business – on-the-fly – driving profitability within the organization.

In an announcement made this morning, Colin Dion of The Diffusion Group, stated:

“One of the barriers to content monetization and optimization is not the availability of analytic data; it’s the application of that data in real time. Tools such as Unicorn Media’s real-time analytics allow content providers to know instantly what’s working and what’s not – taking the guess-work out of content delivery.”

By giving content owners the ability to create search criteria on-the-fly, drill down on a specific piece of content, then use that information to change ad content or set new business rules across multiple platforms, Unicorn Media helps move media publishers from guess work to action.  By empowering organizations with actionable information, UMedia Analytics™ truly helps content providers and media publishers move from monetization to profitability.

View the full release here.

This morning Unicorn Media announced its new Android OS support.  The UMediaDroid™ service allows Unicorn customers and partners to format and deliver video content across any and all devices or services operating on Google’s Android OS.

One of our goals from the very beginning has been to provide our customers with the framework to seamlessly integrate video into any platform.  Now, customers can quickly integrate their Unicorn Media-as-a-Service™ accounts with their Android applications.

With the addition of Android support, we’re proud to say that we offer the most extensive suite of video management services available, including Flash, Silverlight, and HTML5.

Questions about how Unicorn Media can help you with your Android application video initiatives?  Drop us a note here, or contact your Media Services Consultant.

View the full release here.

Unless you’ve been living under the proverbial rock for the last several weeks, you know that Apple has released its much-anticipated iPad.  The hype surrounding the iPad launch has created a lot of discussion about HTML5, what it means for media publishers, and what it means for consumers of online video.  We’d be remiss if we didn’t comment.

While HTML5 will become of growing importance over the next few years, the fact is, HTML5 is a brand new standard.  (There’s a great article over at Gizmodo that gives a fantastic rundown of what its realistic impact on the Internet is and will be.  If you aren’t familiar with HTML5 there’s a great explanation at the beginning, otherwise you can skip right to the middle.)

That said, Unicorn Media absolutely supports iPad video capabilities.  Using our HTTP links through an XML feed or directly through our API, we can deliver H.264 video to any HTML5 player with no issue – it’s only a matter of a few minutes to create a player that provides this capability.

We’re committed, as we’ve always been, to supporting all IP enabled standards and protocols, and part of that commitment is providing our customers with the right solution – not necessarily the newest.  Our technology supports customers who want to implement iPad video capabilities today – through our API and XML feed services. By providing a link that opens the native iPhone or iPad video player, or by using a Quicktime plugin (which not only recognizes non-Flash enabled browsers but also automatically supports both iPhone and iPad viewing), Unicorn Media customers can simply and reliably utilize video on the iPad.

Our dedication fo finding and utilizing the best solutions for customers to publish their valuable online media assets is something we feel distinguishes us from our competitors. If you have questions about how Unicorn Media can help you utilize HTML5 and iPad video capabilities today, please contact us here or drop a note to your Media Services Consultant.

This morning Unicorn Media announced our partnership with dick clark productions, inc. (dcp).  Founded in 1957, dcp is a leading independent producer of television programming. The company produces such specials as Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, the American Music Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Academy of Country Music Awards (which aired last Sunday the 18th).

The Unicorn solution will provide dcp with the ability to optimize the online distribution of their extensive library-including original content created around the ACMAs.  Our syndication capabilities will not only allow dick clark productions to expand their audiences, but Unicorn technology will also reduce dcp’s operation costs and help drive maximum profitability.

We’re thrilled to be working with such a staple of American media.  Welcome to the Unicorn family!

For more information on dick clark productions head on over to www.dickclarkproductions.com. for the full release visit us here.

Yesterday, Kris Drey over at VidCompare published an interview with our very own Sean Gilliam. For those unfamiliar, VidCompare is a free comparison site for businesses looking for an online video platform  solution.

VidCompare a great resource, and we’re happy to be a part of it.

VidCompare: What was the original premise behind starting Unicorn Media?

Sean: Unicorn Media was founded by the same team that started Limelight Networks, a leading content deliver network.  Managing CDN services for the largest media companies in the world gave us insight into another pain point for the same companies – the management and distribution of video content to any destination or device was an expensive, complicated and laborious endeavor.  Unicorn built an affordable, simple, yet powerful solution to solve that problem.  We developed a solution that we call “Media-as-a-Service to represent out ability to offload the complexities associated with media management.

VidCompare:  How do you differentiate yourselves from the crowded OVP space today?

Sean: Frankly, we don’t think of ourselves as a traditional OVP, as those companies are typically focused on supporting properties where video is not core to their business.  While we do have an end-to-end suite of services, our software was primarily built for massive scale, with the largest media companies in the world as our focus.  Our componentrized services work for all size media companies, but we often solve a problem most commonly experienced by larger companies, which is augmenting existing in-house solutions.  Each of our video workflow services can be integrated independently and include first of their kind syndication and analytics tools.

Head on over and check out the rest of Sean’s interview here.

The official countdown to the 2nd Annual Streamy Awards has begun (3 days and counting folks), and we’re thrilled to announce that Unicorn Media will be powering the live broadcast of the first and most prestigious awards ceremony of its kind.

As the Media Services Partner for The Streamy Awards, Unicorn Media will not only power the live broadcast of the event, but VOD viewing as well.  In addition, Unicorn’s dynamic media synchronization technology will enable the management of live and VOD iPhone streaming.

Hosted by Paul Scheer (you know him most notably from the MTV sketch comedy series Human Giant) this year’s awards ceremony is sure to be a star-studded event.  There’s some serious talent being recognized at The Streamy Awards this year…be sure to check out the nominees, and don’t forget to vote for the Audience Choice Award.

If you aren’t one of the lucky ones in attendance at this year’s Streamys at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, be sure to tune in at www.streamys.org.

For the full release visit us here.