• by Ross Fadner , June 6, 2012

The so-called “middle market” of online video publishing is expanding, particularly as brands and agencies develop more branded video content.

Looking to cash in on this phenomenon is thePlatform, a Comcast-owned online video platform that helps cable companies, media companies, brands and anyone else with video content that needs to be published to the Web, monetized, and then distributed across a variety of platforms and devices.

To date, most of thePlatform’s biggest customers have been high-end pay-TV operators like Time Warner Cable, Cox and parent company Comcast that have big-time publishing, management, monetization and distribution needs. On Tuesday, the company released a cut-price version of the mpx video content management system used by these cable giants in a bid to attract more middle-market video business.

This means the Comcast outfit has its sights set squarely on the businesses of small- to-mid-size market servicers like Brightcove, KIT Digital and Ooyala.

At $499 or $1,500 per month, depending on bandwidth, storage and hosting requirements, thePlatform’s new mpx Essentials offering gives smaller clients everything to get set up without needing to upload their video assets more than once. The mpx management system automatically distributes videos across platforms, devices, apps and syndication partners. Both plans also include video-clipping and schedulin and geo-restriction, as well as Akamai, YouTube and social sharing support.

"With mpx Essentials, we're making our premium video platform broadly available for the first time," said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. "More and more organizations are using video to communicate with their customers, employees, and stakeholders, and their needs are rapidly evolving."

However, as TechCrunch’s Ryan Lawler points out, it’s unclear just how big the middle market is in terms of revenue. Brightcove, which has more than 4,200 customers, had just $20 million in sales in the first quarter. Meanwhile, its “Express” product is also more competitive than mpx Essentials, starting at just $99 per month. 

Nevertheless, Melissa Webster, IDC’s program vice president, content and digital media technologies, believes there is a "tremendous and rapidly growing opportunity” in the video hosting, management and distribution space, especially among smaller players. "Online video is not just the purview of TV and entertainment companies,” she said.