Dailymotion Partners With The Orchard For Video Content

Dailymotion

Paris-based video-sharing hub Dailymotion on Thursday announced a significant partnership with digital music label The Orchard to distribute its music videos to Dailymotion's global user base of some 60 million unique visitors. The deal is designed to combine the content library of The Orchard with Dailymotion's reach, according to Joy Marcus, general manager of Dailymotion US.

"It also provides a valuable opportunity for our advertisers to reach a large audience of fiercely independent music lovers," said Marcus. Dailymotion's advertisers include Procter & Gamble, Disney, and MTV.

The partnership will launch with over 5,000 videos reaching Dailymotion's community, while Dailymotion will also promote the videos through programming on its home page and music channel -- it hopes -- through the viral habits of music fans.

Earlier this month, The Orchard lost its President and CEO, Greg Scholl, to NBC Universal, where he has assumed the role of president of Local Media Platforms.

Boosted by a merger with rival Digital Music Group in late 2007, Orchard acquires and licenses the digital rights to music and video content from record labels, artists, television, and film production companies, among other content owners.

Just last week, meanwhile, Dailymotion secured another $25 million investment. The round was led by the French Sovereign Fund, and included original investors Advent Venture Partners, AGF Private Equity, Atlas Venture and Partech International.

Dailymotion was launched in 2005 in Paris, and now has offices in New York, London, Barcelona and Cannes. It offers a mix of official content from partners such as Channel 4, ITN ON, Turner Broadcasting, Viacom/MTV Networks and Universal Music, as well as user-generated content and videos from the Motionmaker program for creative contributors, which is curated by Dailymotion's programming team.

In April, French newspaper Le Journal du Net reported that Dailymotion was seeking an additional investment to counter a depressed global online advertising market. Also in April, Red Bee Media commercial director Ian Brotherston was brought in to replace Mark Zaleski as the company's CEO.

Most recently, in late 2007, the company raised $34 million from AGF Private Equity (a division of Allianz AG) and Advent Venture Partners LLP to finance its hasty U.S. invasion.

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