Personalized online video news service 1Cast has inked deals with E!
and Style to bring their content to its users, marking 1Cast's
expansion into the entertainment category.
The Kirkland, Washington-based company also has
partnered with Web-to-TV service Boxee. 1Cast is a Web and mobile video
service that lets users assemble playlists on news topics of interest
and then have related videos delivered to their desktop, mobile phone
and now on TVs via Boxee.
Existing content partners include Reuters,
Bloomberg, Dow Jones, and others.
"We created a platform to find
a curated experience," 1Cast President Anthony Bontrager told Beet.TV
during an interview. "Consumers can come and search for the topics they
want to follow and we create a linear feed on that topics with stories
from Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC."
The approach gives users
flexibility to watch the topics they want from a variety of sources,
which in turn can expose viewers to news outlets they might not have
watched before. "If you are Fox, it's hard to get in front of a CNBC
viewer," Bontrager said. "But by participating in 1Cast, you will be a
part of a story that includes these other programmer and if your story
resonates there is a likelihood they may traffic your site."'
1Cast
makes money via ads placed in between every one to two clips it
delivers. Beta users have been watching 3.2 million video clips per month with 1Cast. The company also launched a new user interface for the
service letting users share videos more easily through social networks
and browse multiple content categories. 1Cast said its users visit the
site up to four times daily and spend nearly 30 minutes watching
content.
Update: More on the story by Liz Gannes at NewTeeVee.
Daisy Whitney, Senior Producer
