San Diego-based Veoh Networks, which launched in 2004, expects to make money through ad sales and commissions on pay-to-download selections it will debut this month. Video publishers will have the option of allowing their shows to be downloaded for free or for a fee. If free, Veoh will insert ads before and after the programming.
Marketers can also purchase their own advertising for a special rate. This was a good option for advertisers like the Lego Group and Marvel, which co-sponsor a Spite Your Face Productions film short, "Spider-Man: The Peril of Doc Ock," which has a set and cast made entirely of Legos. "What we are doing for television is what the World Wide Web did for print," Shapiro says.