AOL is hoping to make it easier to include high-quality online video on digital publishers' websites, today announcing the launch of "Editors Room," a platform allowing users to add premium-monetizeable video to every page.
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Editors Room will offer access to over 250,000 videos. |
The company, which has seen is stock sink 50-plus percent in the past year, hopes that the initiative, as well as its continued focus on premium videos and webisodes, will make it the go-to source for video.
Editors Room will offer access to more than 250,000 curated videos from media companies and independent producers including BBC News, Hearst, Meredith, blip.tv and more.
"Our curated approach, easy interface and monetization should set the Editors Room apart in the embed marketplace, benefitting editors, publishers and ultimately the consumer experience," said Ran Harnevo, SVP of AOL Video, and former head of 5min, which AOL bought in 2011.
Harnevo said the platform was designed with editorial staff in mind and presents an intuitive, ad-free search interface that simplifies selecting and embedding video.
"We know one of the top pain points (publishers) face is increasing revenue on video," said Harnevo. The Editors Room offers publishers the ability to immediately monetize their video embeds with pre-roll and overlay ads. Publishers can apply to sign up as a publishing partner with AOL, he said.
"If you don't have a deal with us," Harnevo said, "we wouldn't stream ads until someone goes and vets your site. It is the opposite of Google AdSense."
AOL property Huffington Post Media Group used the Editors Room in beta and reported that a limited test showed readers spent 86 percent more time on a page with embedded video than on a similar page without video.
For more:
- see this release
- check out the Editors Room website
- see this TechCrunch article
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