Five Launches Syndicated Player with Brightcove

LONDON: Five will become the first British broadcaster to syndicate full episodes of its top programs for viewing on third-party websites, via a new initiative with online video platform Brightcove.

Five’s viewers will be able to embed episodes of their favorite shows on their websites, social networks and blogs. The move intends to give Five the ability to expand its distribution of long-form, ad-supported video content online and generate additional advertising revenues. Five’s partner websites and its own online properties, such as Five.tv and FiveFWD, the cars and gadgets portal for young men, will be the first websites to benefit from the deal. Later this year, the initiative expands to third-party websites and to consumers who will be able to add embeddable video content to their own favourite places on the web.

"Five’s syndicated player initiative significantly extends the reach of our online video programming in a way that is secure, high-quality, and generates additional advertising revenue," said Paul Thornton-Jones, Five’s digital controller. "With Brightcove, Five has been able to launch the ambitious catch-up online video offering in a very short amount of time, despite the complex distribution and monetization requirements."

"Five continues to break new ground with innovative online video strategies," said Jeremy Allaire, Brightcove’s chairman and CEO. "We are very happy Five has chosen to build its syndicated player and audience network on the Brightcove platform, which represents an important industry first in the UK market."