• by Gavin O'Malley , Staff Writer @mp_gavin, May 2, 2016

The news that Vimeo is buying VHX is interesting for several reasons.

First, it means that the video platform and its content partners can start making some real money. That’s because VHX specializes in helping small- to medium-sized producers selling episodes, seasons, and even subscriptions to viewers.

VHX is also in the business of creating apps for mobile devices, which means that Vimeo and its partners can better position themselves to ride the massive mobile video wave.

What does get VHX out of the deal? “In the long-term, we get to improve VHX a lot faster,” company co-founders Casey Pugh and Jamie Wilkinson note in a new blog post.

That means “better streaming infrastructure, better apps, more marketing and business development firepower, and access to a huge, global audience,” they promise. “Over time we expect these improvements will translate into more competitive products, and new marketing and syndication opportunities for our sellers.”

Of course, Vimeo faces serious competition when it comes to courting content creations. That means going head-to-head with YouTube -- which has more than a billion monthly viewers compared to Vimeo’s roughly 200 million -- Apple and Facebook.  

Working in its favor is Vimeo’s underdog, independent image -- even though it’s technically owned by IAC. That, and it reportedly plans to take a mere 10% cut of subscription revenue -- far lower than its imposing rivals.

There’s also a lot more to go around, these days. Indeed, investments in original digital video programming have increased 114% since 2014, according to fresh findings from IAB research.