• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, September 24, 2008

The Associated Press has selected thePlatform, a white-label video publishing subsidiary of Comcast, to serve as its central back-end management system for publishing video across some 2,000 affiliate and syndication partner sites.

"It's like launching thousands of individual video sites at the same time," said Platform CEO Ian Blaine of the ambitious endeavor.

Since its debut in 2006, Microsoft has provided the underlining technology platform for AP's Online Video Network. Now that the two-year contract is up, AP brass had to decide whether to renew, build a platform in-house, or seek out another provider.

"Microsoft is focusing less on doing this sort of technology outsourcing, and building the platform in-house didn't make sense," said Jane Seagrave, AP's senior vice president of Global Product Development. Microsoft will continue to provide the platform responsible for serving advertising across the AP's Online Video Network.

"There are still big questions around the business of online video, and thePlatform gives us flexibility in our approach," said Seagrave, who oversees development of AP's next-generation multimedia product portfolio and manages product growth in mobile and Web video, along with key content verticals, including entertainment, sports and business.

Those questions, according to Seagrave, include exactly how consumers prefer to view video, the best way to monetize the content, and the ideal content mix.

ThePlatform's biggest competition comes from the in-house platforms that publishers decide to build themselves. Working in thePlatform's favor, therefore, is the increasingly complex syndication landscape, according to Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing at thePlatform.

"We're experts at video content management, which includes upfront integrations with the many providers in the ad space, the content delivery space, and so forth," Roberts said.

Rollout of the new technology platform, to be completed by December, is expected to help network affiliates better showcase their news video as well as to offer higher video quality. Presently, AP's network reaches 61 million unduplicated unique visitors through its 2,100 affiliate sites.

Founded in 2000, thePlatform services many top video syndicators, including the BBC, CNBC, PBS and Gannett (including USA Today).