Comcast's thePlatform Announces Alliance with Verizon Digital Media Services

NEW YORK & SEATTLE – Verizon Digital Media Services and video publishing company thePlatform, have agreed to integrate the Verizon Digital Media Services suite of video services and thePlatform’s mpx video-management system to form a complete solution, which the companies will jointly sell. The companies said the alliance “brings to market a streamlined workflow for online video streaming, from content management through delivery to consumers on multiple screens.” thePlatform is an independent subsidiary of Comcast Corp.

The combined solution will allow customers to manage a complete IP-video solution from a single Web-based console. thePlatform’s cloud-based video publishing and management platform and Verizon’s video workflow solution—which includes single-format media processing for the highest quality playback across devices and content delivery network—unite the video ecosystem in one integrated offering.

The companies claim the integration will provide scale and quality of experience while simplifying complex features like dynamic ad insertion, closed captioning and analytics. Customers will be able to manage files and metadata; set business and monetization policies; enforce content viewing rights; provision video players; and distribute videos to their own websites, third-party sites, smartphones, tablets, game consoles and more.

The new alliance has already launched two key customers in recent months, with the Verizon Digital Media Services solution being used to authenticate TV Everywhere for REVOLT TV, a music cable channel available to 50 million individuals across television, Web, digital and mobile devices. Bellator, a mixed martial arts league co-owned by Viacom, recently launched a new version of bellator.com, using the integrated Verizon Digital Media Services and mpx solution.