The Associated Press has launched AP Video Hub, a global online video news platform, in a bid to attract online news publishers and portals to its services.
The beta launch forms part of a new strategy at the global news agency, as it looks to branch out from its broadcast-centric business to cater for the growing number of online publishers.
The new platform delivers video news from AP’s journalists in the field to digital customers’ desktops.
AP Video Hub will give access to AP’s broadcast-quality world news, entertainment, SNTV (sport) and lifestyle videos.
Content on the platform has been grouped around current ‘topics’, and users can also find videos based on standard categories and via an instant search tool.
A team of ‘curators’ will select and promote breaking news content together with relevant footage from AP’s archive.
Breaking news from the field gets to Video Hub fast, via mobile satellite uplinks and a network of video news bureaus around the world, using video editing, compression and transmission tools.
Functionality includes a ‘follow’ stories feature that alerts users via Twitter as new content on the story arrives.
Quick video previews, one-click download direct to desktop and real-time search content filters are additional features that have been incorporated into the platform.
AP has designed Video Hub specifically for digital publishers and has developed the site in conjunction with a number of major newspapers worldwide.
“We believe AP Video Hub gives customers the ability to access broadcast-quality video news even if they don’t have the technical infrastructure to handle satellite news feeds,” said Sue Brooks, AP director of video transformation. “AP Video Hub will enable them to do this as quickly and easily as large broadcasters do already. We expect AP Video Hub customers to be online video producers for a newspaper, journalists at a regional news agency and news-centric websites. Their needs and work flow are at the heart of the way AP Video Hub has been conceived. Features such as the curated topic pages and ‘follow’ functionality make this an unbeatable and unique proposition.”
Senior Vice President Daisy Veerasingham, who heads AP’s video business internationally, said: “AP Video Hub represents a major opportunity for the AP. Video news is no longer the sole preserve of terrestrial and satellite broadcasters and AP Video Hub addresses this with an offering for the rapidly growing segment of the media market – online video news. Overall AP estimates that over the next few years the value of the online video news market across Europe and Asia will continue to grow by up to 13 percent and 16 percent, respectively, per year.”
Veerasingham added: “This launch forms a key part of our video business transformation program — a multimillion-dollar upgrade to transform our entire video business to ensure we maintain our leadership in video news. The investment is providing AP customers with a wider range of options in how they receive video content, both in the traditional broadcast market and on digital platforms. Not only will all AP’s news be fully HD by the end of May, but we will also be able to deliver it on more platforms than ever before.”
The beta version launched has already been used by charter customers, including some of the world’s leading news sites.
Further functionality will be added over the coming months with the full production release scheduled for summer 2012.
https://www.apvideohub.com
