Tag Archives: Veoh Networks
Veoh Sells Assets To 2Peer Ltd.
Video streaming service Veoh Networks has reportedly sold the rest of their assets to 2Peer Ltd. In the company’s total lifespan, they raised about $67.5 million in venture capital. The financial details of the transaction are unknown.
Veoh started in 2004 and was based in San Diego. The company started by hosting user generated video content, but eventually transformed into a video licensing service. This past February, the company laid off all employees and went Chapter 7 bankrupt. [DMWMedia]
Categories Veoh, Veoh Networks
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Judge Rules Against Vivendi In Veoh Case; Ruled Veoh Satisfied DMCA Criteria
“Veoh has shown that when it did acquire knowledge of allegedly infringing material — whether from DMCA notices, informal notices, or other means — it expeditiously removed such material, and UMG has failed to rebut that showing,” stated a court order by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The Court made a ruling against Universal Music Group for its 2007 lawsuit against Veoh Networks Inc. Whenever Veoh received a DMCA takedown notie, they quickly reacted and removed the material.
UMG failed to show an appropriate rebuttal of Veoh’s proactive removal of copyrighted material. Universal said that the ruling was “wrong” and that they plan to appeal. “The balance between copyright holders and technology that Congress sought in enacting the DMCA has been upended by this decision,” stated Universal Music. The Veoh vs. Universal Music lawsuit was closely watched by media companies because Viacom has a pending lawsuit against Google over copyright material being uploaded on YouTube.
Dmitry Shapiro, the founder of Veoh said that the lawsuit was costly and dragged on for two years. Veoh has venture funding from Goldman Sachs, Time Warner, Spark Capital, Intel, etc.
Veoh raised about $70 million in total funding and is not profitable as of yet, but they expected to be by the second quarter of 2010. Veoh is exploring the possibilities of either selling themselves or raising additional investment.
Categories Dmitry Shapiro, Universal Music Group, Veoh, Veoh Networks, Vivendi, Vivendi SA
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Veoh Reportedly Shopping Around For A Buyer
One of YouTube’s most critical flaws when the company first started was that the video quality was inferior. This is where companies such as Joost and Veoh wanted to hit YouTube where it counted. Both Joost and Veoh had higher quality videos than YouTube, but they lacked in quantity. Last week Joost decided to focus on video platforms for companies rather than making deals with companies to stream their content.
Now Veoh is reportedly giving up on being a streaming video start-up company. AllThingsD is reporting that the company is looking for a buyer for a price that is below the $70 million in funding that they have raised over the last four years. The $30 million Series D round of funding took place back in June 2008.
Some of the previous investors include former Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Goldman Sachs. The company has not been profitable and last year alone they lost about $6 million. Veoh is also facing litigation from Universal Music Group which is accusing them of copyright vilations.
Currently there is no word on who a potential buyer may be, but considering how much traffic Veoh is receiving I would not be surprised if an acquisition takes place in the near future.
Categories Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Goldman-Sachs, Michael Eisner, Veoh, Veoh Networks
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Former Disney CEO, Eisner Forming Web Video Studio Website, Vuguru
Before departing from Disney, Michael Eisner has had quite a few tumultous encounters with Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Inc. and Pixar Animation Studios (now owned by Disney). Now Eisner has found a new way to occupy himself: the Internet. USA Today mentioned that Eisner’s investment company, The Tornante Company will announce that the company is launching a Web video studio called Vuguru. The website will feature a show called Prom Queen which will have a season that lasts 80 days and will have a new 90 second clip added each day.
“There’s a new distribution platform that’s going to be ubiquitous, and that’s clearly broadband,” stated Eisner. “Winning the marathon will be professionally produced, emotionally driven story content.”
Vuguru has also announced that the web videos will soon be available for streaming on mobile phones and other handhelds. The web videos will have advertisements running before-and-after the show along with product placements within the actual program. The Tornante Company believes that by running shows at 90 seconds a piece, users will still be engaged in every episode. Vuguru had also bought the rights to another program called Sam Has 7 Friends.
Eisner, Time Warner, and Spark Capital have previously invested in Veoh Networks, Inc. last April. The amount was for $12.5 million.
Categories Spark Capital, The Tornante Company, Time Warner, Veoh Networks, Vuguru
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