Leading IPTV company Brightcove opens a free service that lets any content owner launch their own commercial Internet video channels at no cost, generating ad revenue and download sales.

Jeremy Allaire, chairman and chief executive officer of Brightcove, tells us:

“In the last six months we’ve seen explosive growth in the online video market, especially in consumer sharing, but this is only the beginning of the Internet TV era. Now content producers, from serious amateurs to major studios, are looking for an approach to Internet video that gives
them commercial opportunities with their content as well as control over their distribution.”

At no cost, the network lets any content owner the ability build a commercial Internet TV channel, launch it on their site, syndicate it to other web sites, and distribute it on via Brightcove’s web site. Content owners give Brightcove the right to sell advertising in their videos, and in turn they receive 50% of the revenue from ads that run in their channels. Content owners can also offer video downloads. They can set the pricing and they earn 70% for each transaction.

The company has already made strategic links with AOL and Lycos, and more recently the New York Times enlisted them to develop its broadband video content offerings.

Brightcove’s is reaching for the professional and semi-professional end of the internet tv market. They are looking to the near future where television delivered via broadband will become the norm. They clearly expect their output to end up on people’s tv screens rather than computer monitors. This innovation will make it easier for small content providers to collect ad revenue, and if it gathers ground quickly enough, Brightcove will be well placed for the iptv future.