Brightcove announced distribution partnerships with Bebo, Meebo, RockYou, Slide and Veoh, giving media companies new opportunities to expand the reach of their online video, while maintaining control over their content and advertising inventory. Now media companies using the Brightcove Internet TV platform can program and syndicate advertising-supported content into social networks, social media applications, and online video destination.

"Our distribution partners represent the fastest-growing segments of the social Web and hold enormous potential for our media customers to grow online audiences and scale their advertising inventory," said Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer, Brightcove. "To date, taking advantage of viral promotion and distribution through online communities has been tricky business for media companies who want to maintain control over the brand experience and advertising sales. Using our Internet TV platform to manage and monetize this distribution answers these dual requirements of reach and control."

Brightcove customers publish some of the most sought-after news and entertainment video on the Web. The distribution partnerships announced will make an array of video content available to be viewed on Bebo channels, shared through viral widgets from RockYou and Slide on Facebook and MySpace, included in instant messaging activities on Meebo, and viewed in full-screen at Veoh's Internet Television portal.

Top media companies are already planning to tap into these new distribution partnerships:

"Social networks and video portals are becoming the first stop for people who want to talk about art, music, culture, and news," says Eddy Moretti, co-founder and executive producer, VBS.tv. "We're excited Brightcove is providing an easy and effective way for us to leverage all our original video content across these communities to create and drive conversations."

"People think about weather constantly as they plan their day so we strive to make our content available on as many platforms as possible -- extending our brand to social networks is a logical step for our brand," said Cameron Clayton, vice president of business development for The Weather Channel Interactive. "Brightcove enables us to easily extend distribution and our advertising reach into new audiences."

The distribution partners reached a combined audience of more than 300 million monthly viewers.

-- Bebo - Bebo is a social media network with over 40 million members worldwide. "Through Bebo's Open Media platform, Brightcove's media customers are gaining access to a highly-engaged community of users -- many of whom fall into the 16-24 year old age range," said Evan Cohen, Bebo vice president, strategy and operations. "The partnership will further expand the range of professional media owners using Open Media to create valuable new advertising inventory while allowing them to maintain control of their brand, their content and their revenues. We are the first social network to adopt this breakthrough business model."

-- Meebo - Meebo is the Web's live interaction platform.. "Mashing up Brightcove content with a Meebo Room is a great combination for those seeking increased engagement for their sites," said Seth Sternberg, chief executive officer of Meebo. "Just ask Britney Spears -- she recently launched her latest video using a Brightcove player side-by-side with a Meebo Room. The result: over forty thousand unique viewers and chatters for the online premiere."

-- RockYou - RockYou is an innovator, creator and distributor of widgets and applications on the social web. The company offers customized branding and advertising opportunities on Facebook and can deploy applications across any social network, including MySpace, Bebo and Friendster. "Collaborating with Brightcove empowers us to offer our users compelling content when and how they want it," said Lance Tokuda, chief executive officer and co-founder of RockYou. "Online video is one of the hottest forms of digital media and it should be easily accessible no matter where you are on the web."

 -- Slide - Slide is a social media network reaching more than 200 million global viewers each month across all the major social networks, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi-5 and Tagged. "Slide is always looking to engage our users with the best content on the internet," said Keith Rabois, vice president of strategy and business development at Slide. "Working with Brightcove enables us to offer some of the most sought after videos to the millions of users that touch our products daily."

 -- Veoh - Veoh is an Internet TV service with more than 23 million monthly viewers who watch over 30 million hours of content every month. "Veoh's viewers are among the most engaged and entertainment-hungry consumers on the Web, so partnering with a leading branded video platform like Brightcove is a natural fit for us," said Steve Mitgang, chief executive officer of Veoh Networks. "By introducing Veoh's millions of viewers to compelling content from Brightcove's publishers, both companies are creating an even richer experience for Internet Television users and even more opportunities for brands to connect with their target audiences."

Brightcove plans to expand its distribution partners this year, creating additional opportunities for media companies to continue to extend the reach of their online video content and monetize additional advertising inventory.