FreeWheel Expands Monetization Rights Management Platform
06.09.10 | View Full Article at MediaWeek
June 9, 2010
FreeWheel, a fast growing technology firm which helps media companies manage their online video advertising efforts, wants to do the same thing on every digital platform under the sun—from the iPad to Android cell phones.
The company on Wednesday (June 9) is set to announce that its core Monetization Rights Management product will support HTML5, Android, Cocoa, Flash, and Silverlight. That means that FreeWheel will be able to deliver and manage video ads on PC’s, mobile devices, mobile applications, connected TV’s, and of course devices like Apple’s iPad—which famously doesn't support Flash, the most popular Web video technology.
“The goal is, if you are a content company, you can used our technology anywhere,” said Freewheel co-founder and co-CEO Doug Knopper. “Everywhere your content can run, we’ll make sure that ads can go with it.”
The three-year-old FreeWheel has quickly amassed partnerships with some of the biggest media companies out there, including CBS, ESPN, YouTube, Vevo and others. The company’s primary specialty is ad sales rights management—i.e. it helps companies automate which ads get served alongside which content, and how revenue is shared among different ad sales parties.
FreeWheel, which recently raised $16.8 million, also helps companies serve ads and forecast video inventory availability. The company has recently announced a string of new partnerships with companies ranging from Discovery to Brightcove. Starting this weekend, FreeWheel will begin helping ESPN3 manage ad inventory for the much-anticipated 2010 FIFA World Cup
Knopper sees FreeWheel as playing an integral role as the online ad industry continues to expand. “It we do our job right, the whole ecosystem grows,” he said.
