Brightcove Ramps Up Japanese Business

CAMBRIDGE: Brightcove has lined up a slate of new Japanese clients, among them Tokyo Broadcasting System, after establishing a majority owned subsidiary in this key Asian market last year.

In 2008, the Japanese subsidiary of the online video platform was established with a $4.9 million in new investment from Brightcove Inc. and four market-leading local strategic partners: Dentsu, J-Stream, transcosmos and Cyber Communications. Last year, PRESENTCAST selected Brightcove for gorin.jp, the exclusive online video portal in Japan for coverage of the Olympic Games that was backed by all of Japan’s commercial television broadcasters. Since then, Brightcove has continued to help PRESENTCAST launch a number of online video properties.

Brightcove has also lined up a host of new clients: Tokyo Broadcasting System,  Sony Music Network, Asahi Breweries Group, Shueisha Publishing and Orange Page.  "Japan is a sophisticated and fast-growing online video market," said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove’s chairman and CEO. "Brightcove’s growth in Japan is an important contributor to our worldwide expansion. We are very excited to see the wide-ranging adoption of our online video platform among some of Japan’s most well-known and highly-respected media businesses and brand marketers."

Tokyo Broadcasting System has selected the Brightcove online video platform for a limited trial of the first ever prime-time time-shifted TV show in Japan. Asahi Breweries Group is using Brightcove  to develop direct-to-consumer, branded online video experiences that showcase its library of TV commercials. The Sony deal builds upon Brightcove’s relationship with the label in North America and Europe, with the platform being used to deliver video content across its network of award-winning artist and label websites. Shueisha Publishing will utilize Brightcove for its newly launched webUOMO TV, a portal for branded, advertising-supported, original video content showcasing the latest in men’s fashion trends. And Orange Page recently launched Kitchen TV on the Brightcove platform.