AOL's transformation into a video delivery platform, if not complete, is awfully close. At least the statistics seem to indicate that the Internet giant's move is gaining the attention of the viewing public and those outside the online space who cater to that public.
According to a story in Beet.TV, the Internet pioneer is steaming about 700 million videos per month to an audience of about 42 million unique viewers.
"[T]hese are actually TV numbers," Tal Simantov, general manager of AOL On, told Beet.TV. "For the last six months we're ranked the second largest video platform, second only to YouTube."
That's a pretty high ranking considering YouTube offers a cornucopia of videos, most of which are viewer-generated, while AOL is delivering premium content. Simantov said AOL is "the largest premium platform out there."
In a trend to watch, AOL is not only attracting traditional TV viewers to its online content but is also attracting television networks and losing content to the big screen.
This, said Simantov, is "another sign of how online video has started to merge with TV content." Rather than being dismayed that its programming is moving off to other media, Simantov said AOL is "hoping to see more and more shows that are coming from our production studios going live on TV and merging with the other screen."
Of course, it helps to have the content to show, especially if you're not generating your own, so AOL's deals with Discovery (Nasdaq: DISCA) and Martha Stewart are key to the future, Simantov said, and the company is keeping an eye out for more television brands to include content from E!, BBC and the Travel Channel, among others.
For more:
- Beet.TV had this story
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