Last year was an exciting one for video ad nets and for video livestreaming, which both enjoyed stellar growth. In 2010, these two industries will catapault each other to a higher plane across many
vertical markets, as livestreams, with their newly emerging capabilities, gain recognition. Among the major players are the following (disclosure: I'm not affiliated with any of these
companies)...
Adap.tv, with its OneSource Video Ad Server, has positioned itself extremely well with Livestream.com and Justin.tv, providing the forecasting, trafficking, campaign
management, and analytical tools that digital agencies need for media planning.
But the partnership between Ooyala (with its delivery, analytics, and monetization
capabilities) and Yume (with its multi-device inventory monetization and campaign optimization on its ACE platform) presents a formidable challenge to OneSource.
Then there's WebSat, which
participates in the design, implementation, and production of highly targeted livestreams with 2-way interactive communications, running Todocast on the backend. The ramp-up of WebSat's 2-way
services in outdoor sports, music events, and auctions (to mention but a few) has increased the appeal of the platform for bids and buy-nows.
As real-time functionality matures for
commercial video livestreams and advertising networks, and these new capabilities acquire standardized metrics, the payoff will be great for interactive livestream video ads.