Abstract

Brightcove, a technology and services provider to content owners in the Internet television field,
aimed to become a media distribution company in its own right.

On October 30, 2006, it relaunched its Websiteand, in effect, its business. With its new, consumer-
facing home page, and with new offerings for advertisers and affiliates as well as video publishers,
Brightcove sought to build a four-sided business (or "platform") around the rapidly expanding online
video industry.

Simultaneously, CEO Jeremy Allaire was completing a major funding round that would enable the
company to make strategic investments in some or all of several categories: technology, media
distribution infrastructure, international expansion, and acquisitions.

As Allaire and his fellow executives weighed those options, they confronted competitive threats in
multiple quarters, but particularly from YouTube, a hugely popular video-sharing site that online
search giant Google had recently acquired.

Covers Brightcove's vision for its multi-sided business, its technology offering and early business
model, its efforts to shift to a new model based on media distribution, and its chief competitors in that
market space.

Study Questions: (in addition to pressure diagram assessment of key contextual

factors)

1. What were Brightcoves vision and business model in 2006? What were its
strengths and weaknesses? 2. Brightcove went after publishers first, rather than
consumers first (like YouTube). Was that a strategic mistake?
3. What are Brighcoves most promising opportunities today? Should the company
still pursue a MSP business Model? If no, why not? If yes, how exactly?

Class 6February 15, 2017: Multi-Sided Platforms As New Model for Driving
Disruption, Scale and Value Creation This session will cover the notable impacts that
multisided platforms have had in disrupting new products/services, and supporting
business models which connect buyers and suppliers in a notably lower cost, more
agile and pervasive manner. A discussion of social networks and shared economy
ventures such as Uber and AirBnB will be discussed including their rapid growth,
unique connectedness, as well as regulatory threats. Analysis of when and where
multi sided platform models work best will provide a framework for market
assessment.

BRIGHTCOVE AND THE FUTURE OF INTERNET TELEVISION HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL CASE
STUDY 9-707-457. This paper provides a Berkeley Research case analysis and case study solution to a
popular Harvard strategic management and technology management case study by David B. Yoffie, Andrei
Hagiu and Michael Slind concerning Brightcove, a technology and services provider to Internet TV content
owners. The case focuses on Brightcoves efforts to transform itself into a media distribution company. The
paper includes problem identification, problem analysis with SWOT and competitive analysis, identification
and assessment of alternatives, recommendation, and implementation plan. KEYWORDS: communication
channels Internet media case study competitive analysis advertising brightcove case solution technology
management strategy execution strategic management. APA Style. 12 pages, 14 footnotes, 10 bibliographic
sources. 3,256 words.