Intel’s investment division Intel Capital led a new $18 million Series B investment round in IRIS.TV, a data technology company that offers an alternative to cookies and third-party identifiers. IRIS.TV, founded in 2013, analyzes the topics of individual videos of any kind or length, providing information for advertisers on contextual relevance rather than the viewer’s personal data. IRIS.TV’s tech works on videos on mobile phones and computers and, notably, for content on streaming television apps. Continue reading Intel Leads Investment Round in IRIS.TV Video Data Platform

Now that Facebook has become a major player in video, the social media company finds itself tackling new issues: piracy and policing of content. The latter became an issue within minutes after a gunman killed two journalists on live TV; the gunman posted his video on Facebook (and Twitter), which went viral. Content owners are also irate that Facebook has been slow in working to prevent copyrighted videos from being reposted by third parties. Now that Facebook admits it has a problem, the work to fix it begins. Continue reading Facebook Video Raises Offensive Content, Piracy Concerns

Fans are not only getting their “Game of Thrones” fix from the popular episodes airing on HBO, but also the fan-generated “Game of Thrones” content on YouTube. From audience-reaction videos to alternate endings, more than 1.4 billion fan-created videos account for 89 percent of all “Thrones” related viewing on YouTube. According to Google research, online activity on YouTube helps drive viewers to TV shows, boost ratings, and keep fans engaged in between seasons. Continue reading Fan-Made YouTube Videos Bolster ‘Game of Thrones’ Success

I recently spent an hour with Richard Raddon, co-founder of ZEFR (formerly MovieClips), a Venice, California company that is “connecting fans and franchises for the good of all.” MovieClips was co-founded by Raddon and Zach James about three years ago. The company developed proprietary technology that allowed them to identify content on YouTube. When MovieClips became ZEFR, it shifted its focus to help studios, sports, TV and music videos collect and monetize postings on YouTube. Continue reading ZEFR Helps Content Creators Reach Their Hidden Audience