What they're saying about Magnify
For more information see our press kit.
May 2009
Magnify.net Takes Over for ChannelMe.tv
Written by Ryan Lawler
Magnify.net is looking to expand its addressable market with white-label and co-branded business deals, beginning with a new partnership to provide the video publishing platform for Demand Media Inc.'s ChannelMe.tv site.
Demand Media sent a notice to ChannelMe users last week notifying them that it would soon cease offering video services. Instead, the company said it was partnering with Magnify.net as the preferred platform for ChannelMe users to transition to.
As part of the partnership, Magnify.net will share revenues with Demand Media for users who sign up for accounts through the ChannelMe affiliate program. Magnify.net has also agreed to resell domains through Demand Media's eNom domain registry division.
By entering into a revenue sharing agreement, Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum says the partnership "gives the Demand guys an opportunity to continue to have a stake in the channels that get built."
Financial terms are obviously key to the deal, but both companies say that they will be collaborating outside the reseller or revenue share model on other opportunities. Jeff Eckhaus, senior vice president of eNom, says the companies are "working together on other projects that we'll be announcing sometime down the road."
For users, there is a downside as well as an upside. While Magnify will provide more features and functionality than ChannelMe had offered, the transition won't be seamless. Users will need to retrieve their videos from ChannelMe and create a new channel on Magnify before migrating to the new platform.
ChannelMe users have until July 1 to make the transition. After that point, the company will deactivate all channels on the site.
While it's not key to Magnify's business, Rosenbaum says the company could enter into more relationships like the deal it struck with Demand Media. "I think there's a real opporutnity to provide a white-label or co-branded platform," Rosenbaum says. [MORE »]
Magnify.net is looking to expand its addressable market with white-label and co-branded business deals, beginning with a new partnership to provide the video publishing platform for Demand Media Inc.'s ChannelMe.tv site.
Demand Media sent a notice to ChannelMe users last week notifying them that it would soon cease offering video services. Instead, the company said it was partnering with Magnify.net as the preferred platform for ChannelMe users to transition to.
As part of the partnership, Magnify.net will share revenues with Demand Media for users who sign up for accounts through the ChannelMe affiliate program. Magnify.net has also agreed to resell domains through Demand Media's eNom domain registry division.
By entering into a revenue sharing agreement, Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum says the partnership "gives the Demand guys an opportunity to continue to have a stake in the channels that get built."
Financial terms are obviously key to the deal, but both companies say that they will be collaborating outside the reseller or revenue share model on other opportunities. Jeff Eckhaus, senior vice president of eNom, says the companies are "working together on other projects that we'll be announcing sometime down the road."
For users, there is a downside as well as an upside. While Magnify will provide more features and functionality than ChannelMe had offered, the transition won't be seamless. Users will need to retrieve their videos from ChannelMe and create a new channel on Magnify before migrating to the new platform.
ChannelMe users have until July 1 to make the transition. After that point, the company will deactivate all channels on the site.
While it's not key to Magnify's business, Rosenbaum says the company could enter into more relationships like the deal it struck with Demand Media. "I think there's a real opporutnity to provide a white-label or co-branded platform," Rosenbaum says. [MORE »]
FierceOnlineVideo Leaders - Steve Rosenbaum, CEO, Magnify.net
May 15, 2009| By Pete Wylie
FierceOnlineVideo got a chance to catch up with Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum to discuss his company's progress in 2009, "participatory media," and get his thoughts on the state of the online video industry.
FierceOV: Steve, what are some highlights of the year so far for Magnify?
Rosenbaum: While it may seem counter-intuitive, given the overwhelming drumbeat of bad economic news, we've seen the opposite and have had a lot of success expanding the business and moving into new verticals. Companies and independent websites are realizing that it is mission critical to integrate video into their Web presence in a meaningful way, and they need a partner to do the integration.
FierceOV: What are some examples of online video integrations you've done recently you felt were especially compelling?
Rosenbaum: Our campaign with Zappos (an online clothing, shoes and accessories retailer) comes to mind. They came to us with the idea that what they were delivering was more than just a product, it crossed over into an experience for the consumer when they opened the box and were happy to get the right item on time. We realized they had a "media moment" with the customer opening their Zappos order, so we started a campaign where users could submit videos of receiving their order.
It required Zappos to open up their brand a little, but with a little guidance and clear rules to posting, we saw excellent response from customers. They spent a surprising amount of effort making the videos, they were authentic and funny, and really showed them having a little fun with it. I think there is a strong audience around this "participatory media," and I think we'll see big growth there in the next 18-24 months.
FierceOV: Why do you think people will increasingly adopt "participatory media," given the number and variety of their other entertainment and media options?
Rosenbaum: I think people are hungry for a sort of authenticity these days and respect things they feel are "real." People also get to interact with others with similar interests in these types of environments, and they'll follow the rules of the site not to post offensive content and such for the chance to belong to that community. They want to get inside the "velvet rope" if you will, where the interesting, really good content is. And participatory media is great for the companies too, because they used to have to pay a crew to go shoot an ad video, then produce it and edit it, where with this model, you're letting your audience do it and you just need to monitor the space.
FierceOV: Magnify.net also offers video syndication services. What is your take on the eventual role of syndication and viral videos in the online video industry?
Rosenbaum: First, I'm not a fan of the term viral. I have three clients a week that come to us and say, ‘I want to make this video viral.' The question I would ask, which I feel is much more important, is in your existing interactions with customers, where is video a natural extension of current behavior?
For instance, Taste of Home magazine. They already have user-submitted recipes, so why not have videos of people actually preparing them?
FierceOV: Why do you think people will participate in this sort of offering on a large scale?
Rosenbaum: I think people have an internal desire to contribute and to be a leader in documenting something. Look at the rush to populate the Web with text; there was no question of ROI at first. I think video can be the same way. More and more I also think people are seeing the value of aggregation and syndication. They see they can't produce enough content to populate their site, so they look to syndicate, which makes it even more attractive to produce video.
FierceOV: These syndication models mostly rely on free distribution of content. What would you say to those people who say that free models are not sustainable and won't work from a revenue perspective?
Rosenbaum: I would say they are wrong, and it's very demonstrable why they are wrong. I think they have a point as it relates to entertainment content, there is a problem with free around that. But if you're talking about videos about how to tile a bathroom, I think they are wrong. There are "monetizable moments" around the long tail, where ads can run with that bathroom tile video for the tile itself or other things needed to do it, for an ebook detailing how to tile bathrooms, and even an ad for a tile installer if the person gives up and decides not to do it themselves. [MORE »]
FierceOnlineVideo got a chance to catch up with Magnify.net CEO Steve Rosenbaum to discuss his company's progress in 2009, "participatory media," and get his thoughts on the state of the online video industry.
FierceOV: Steve, what are some highlights of the year so far for Magnify?
Rosenbaum: While it may seem counter-intuitive, given the overwhelming drumbeat of bad economic news, we've seen the opposite and have had a lot of success expanding the business and moving into new verticals. Companies and independent websites are realizing that it is mission critical to integrate video into their Web presence in a meaningful way, and they need a partner to do the integration.
FierceOV: What are some examples of online video integrations you've done recently you felt were especially compelling?
Rosenbaum: Our campaign with Zappos (an online clothing, shoes and accessories retailer) comes to mind. They came to us with the idea that what they were delivering was more than just a product, it crossed over into an experience for the consumer when they opened the box and were happy to get the right item on time. We realized they had a "media moment" with the customer opening their Zappos order, so we started a campaign where users could submit videos of receiving their order.
It required Zappos to open up their brand a little, but with a little guidance and clear rules to posting, we saw excellent response from customers. They spent a surprising amount of effort making the videos, they were authentic and funny, and really showed them having a little fun with it. I think there is a strong audience around this "participatory media," and I think we'll see big growth there in the next 18-24 months.
FierceOV: Why do you think people will increasingly adopt "participatory media," given the number and variety of their other entertainment and media options?
Rosenbaum: I think people are hungry for a sort of authenticity these days and respect things they feel are "real." People also get to interact with others with similar interests in these types of environments, and they'll follow the rules of the site not to post offensive content and such for the chance to belong to that community. They want to get inside the "velvet rope" if you will, where the interesting, really good content is. And participatory media is great for the companies too, because they used to have to pay a crew to go shoot an ad video, then produce it and edit it, where with this model, you're letting your audience do it and you just need to monitor the space.
FierceOV: Magnify.net also offers video syndication services. What is your take on the eventual role of syndication and viral videos in the online video industry?
Rosenbaum: First, I'm not a fan of the term viral. I have three clients a week that come to us and say, ‘I want to make this video viral.' The question I would ask, which I feel is much more important, is in your existing interactions with customers, where is video a natural extension of current behavior?
For instance, Taste of Home magazine. They already have user-submitted recipes, so why not have videos of people actually preparing them?
FierceOV: Why do you think people will participate in this sort of offering on a large scale?
Rosenbaum: I think people have an internal desire to contribute and to be a leader in documenting something. Look at the rush to populate the Web with text; there was no question of ROI at first. I think video can be the same way. More and more I also think people are seeing the value of aggregation and syndication. They see they can't produce enough content to populate their site, so they look to syndicate, which makes it even more attractive to produce video.
FierceOV: These syndication models mostly rely on free distribution of content. What would you say to those people who say that free models are not sustainable and won't work from a revenue perspective?
Rosenbaum: I would say they are wrong, and it's very demonstrable why they are wrong. I think they have a point as it relates to entertainment content, there is a problem with free around that. But if you're talking about videos about how to tile a bathroom, I think they are wrong. There are "monetizable moments" around the long tail, where ads can run with that bathroom tile video for the tile itself or other things needed to do it, for an ebook detailing how to tile bathrooms, and even an ad for a tile installer if the person gives up and decides not to do it themselves. [MORE »]
About Us
Explore
Press by month
