By way of sending out a message to all their many users, Brightcove has announced that it is soon going to be closing the YouTube-style consumer video community, which currently resides at the Brightcove.TV domain.

As of December 17, 2007, users of the video service and community will no longer be able to upload videos, as the website will be refocused to provide a central destination for the professional distribution and promotion of the company’s network of media partners.

Brightcove has always seemed more focused on developing methods of distributing and monetizing videos, providing a platform for several high-profile clients, so what exactly took this team so long to realize that running a YouTube competitor was not the way to go?

Pro Vs UGC

With the interactivity of the internet, two types of web video have emerged, professional video (similar to television content, though often more brief) and user-generated video (created by amateurs).

It has been clear that the king of user-generated video platforms is YouTube ever since their purchase by Google for more than $1 billion, but there has been no clear top-notch platform for the professional side.

It should have been a clear indication to Brightcove early on that their focus should be on the market that they still have a shot at capturing.

This seemed to be the case when the user-generated service was relocated from the Brightcove.com domain to Brightcove.TV, but still the company struggled to provide for both sectors.

Dear Brightcove.tv Member

The following message was sent by Brightcove today to all users of its service:

Dear Brightcove.TV member,

Beginning December 18, 2007, we plan to end support of direct consumer uploads to Brightcove.TV. As a result, you will not be able to upload new videos to Brightcove.TV after December 17, 2007. 

But videos you have already uploaded to Brightcove.TV will remain available on the site and through your Brightcove.TV channel. Videos you have embedded in other sites and blogs will also continue to play.

If you have a Brightcove Platform or Network account, which means you use the Brightcove Console, then you will still have the option to promote videos on Brightcove.TV.

Brightcove.TV will continue to be a guide to great video from Brightcove media and business partners. The site will have new videos added to it daily from these partners and these videos can be saved as favorite videos in your channel.

We appreciate your interest in Brightcove and apologize for any disruption this change may cause you.

Sincerely,
The Brightcove Team

An Inexperienced Team

Nothing truly revolutionary has been developed by Brightcove to make it stand out among other services, other than the recently launched Brightcove Show internet TV platform, and perhaps this is why. 

Whether the company has a shot a succeeding now is still a question that is up in the air. 

Some believe that the executives at Brightcove seem inexperienced for having received over $80 million in funding and still changing focus after three years in business, but I just hope that this is the last time. 

Before long, users will be so confused that no one will want to use the service if Brightcove cannot make a final, standing decision.

Expect the new, professional Brightcove.TV to offer the same choice of accounts (free, ad-supported network account or paid publisher account) and much of the same content, as most of Brightcove’s existing videos seemed to be provided by media partners.

Will Brightcove now finally be able to succeed or could this be the last move for an indecisive crew?

Michael Garrett is a contributing author discussing the social networking world, his work can be found on Profy.com

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