Brightcove Inc. (NASDAQ:BCOV), a global provider of cloud hosting services for video, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Unicorn Media, a provider of cloud video ad insertion technology.
Unicorn Media has pioneered an innovative cloud-based ad insertion and video stitching service called Once, which addresses the limitations of traditional online video ad technology. The Once service reduces or eliminates the need for platform-specific ad technology and makes it possible for digital media companies to reliably deliver live or on-demand video with dynamically customized programming and targeted advertising to the maximum range of devices.
R&D Center
Unicorn Media is a company that has been awarded 14 U.S. patents, 7 of which have also been issued internationally, and has 20 patent applications pending for the technologies that are the foundation of the Once product line and other related domains. These patents and inventions will become part of the Brightcove intellectual property portfolio following the closing of the transaction.
Brightcove will rebrand the Unicorn Media product line as Brightcove Once and will continue to develop, operate and support the service while also integrating the technology with other Brightcove services. Unicorn Media’s headquarters in Tempe, Arizona will become the Brightcove Southwest R&D Center, joining similar centers in Boston, San Francisco and Seattle.
NBC News and The Weather Channel
“Media companies are struggling to effectively deliver ad-supported video content to a fragmented landscape of platforms, including mobile devices, set top boxes, connected living room devices, and a growing number of PCs that have ad-blockers installed,” said David Mendels, Chief Executive Officer of Brightcove. “Through the acquisition of Unicorn Media, Brightcove will empower media companies to address these challenges by offering the most comprehensive suite of cloud hosting services for delivering and monetizing online video content to the broadest range of devices.”
Well-known digital media organizations, including ESPN, NBC News and The Weather Channel rely on Once to take advantage of monetization opportunities across a wide range of devices and screens and deliver a smooth cloud hosting services-based end-user experience that would rival or surpass traditional television. In addition, a number of leading media companies would already been using both Brightcove and Unicorn Media services in a complementary fashion.
