Gulliver Smithers and Gideon Summerfield join Base79 from ITV and BBC respectively to head expansion into connected devices market

London, 20th October 2011 – Base79, the UK’s leading digital rights management and monetisation company, today announces the appointment of Gulliver Smithers as Chief Technology Officer and Gideon Summerfield as Head of Product Management.

Smithers and Summerfield will join Base79 to drive the company’s expansion into the connected devices market, focusing on the development of new products and applications for SmartTVs.

The dual appointment is part of a larger move to expand Base79’s business and technology beyond the web, and provide video-on-demand (VOD) services and content through a range of connected devices. Right-holders and advertisers will be able to engage with viewers through these new form factors, increasing and diversifying revenue opportunities from video consumption.

Smithers joins Base79 from ITV, where he spent six years overseeing and managing a variety of projects. During his time at ITV Smithers oversaw the rollout of the ITV Player across multiple platforms, headed ITV’s YouView project, launched several television channels in the UK and managed the outsourcing of ITV’s transmission operations. Prior to this, he worked on the development of digital TV hardware and software at Strategy & Technology Ltd and spent two years at BSkyB managing Sky’s interactive advertising products.

Summerfield spent over three years at the BBC prior to joining Base79, where he oversaw the expansion of the BBC iPlayer onto multiple connected platforms. This included working with device partners Sony, Nintendo, Sky, Microsoft, BT and Samsung to adapt the service to new devices, as well as managing an award winning HD catch-up service for Virgin Media.

“The increasing number of connected devices on the market is leading to greater demand for high-quality, on-demand content” comments Ashley MacKenzie, CEO, Base79. “With these appointments, we now have a strong and uniquely qualified team capable of building technology platforms for connected devices and SmartTVs.

“By developing new services and platforms, we’ll provide right-holders and producers with a unique opportunity to monetise their video content in this rapidly developing marketplace while giving advertisers the ability to target engaged viewers through these applications, as they currently do on the web.”

“With this opportunity in mind, we’re pleased to welcome our new team members and are confident they can capitalise on the continuing increase in demand for high-quality VOD content”.

London 15th September 2011 – myvideorights, the UK’s leading digital rights management and monetisation company, today rebrands to Base79 with the announcement of £2.75 million funding led by its principal investor, MMC Ventures. The Board and its existing angel investors have also participated in the funding round.

Based in London and New York, the company manages content for companies and artists including the Football Association, Mr Bean and Ministry of Sound, licensing this content to online publishers including YouTube, Hulu and Netflix. Base79 currently manages a network of content that generates over 375 million views per month.

The funding will be used to accelerate both the company’s international expansion across the US and Europe as well as significant product development initiatives that further improves its ability to distribute premium quality content across multiple platforms and devices.

The rebrand to Base79 reflects the company’s vision to be the leading creators of content driven value online. The company simplifies the digital video landscape to create new profits for rights holders, content publishers and advertisers throughout the world in TV entertainment, sports and music markets.

The rebrand and funding announcement comes as the company posted growth in revenues of 805% over the last two years, placing the UK innovator as the second fastest growing media company in Europe according to the GP Bullhound 2011 Media Momentum List. This accolade followed the company being named as one of four Cool Vendors in Media by Gartner in May 2011.

Ashley MacKenzie, Founder & CEO, Base79 comments: “Our offer is playing very well. We’re excited at the opportunities presented by an ever more connected world and there is no doubt in my mind that SMARTTV’s will revolutionise the TV value chain within 5 years allowing our video content to eventually reach a huge and engaged audience of billions, seamlessly. Our rebrand to Base79 is an exciting step in our evolution as a company with the vision to be the world’s leading creators and generators of content value online.”

“The investment led by MMC Ventures is a vital ingredient for tuning our operations to meet an aggressive growth plan. International expansion and product development including investment in technology underpinning content distribution to connected devices will accelerate our growth both in the UK and internationally.”

“MMC invests growth equity in dynamic young UK companies. We back companies at an early stage and work in partnership with them to grow to substantial scale and profitability,” says Tracy Dorée, MMC Ventures. “It’s clear that Base79 is realising its enormous potential and we’re excited to provide the investment that helps the company meet its international ambitions and expand its product offering for the benefit of their partners.”

New York, 11 May 2011- myvideorights (MVR), the expert in actively managing, distributing and monetizing professionally produced video online, has entered a distribution agreement with Hulu. The award-winning Rowan Atkinson
Live, Mr. Bean Live Action Series and Mr. Bean: The Animated Series will be distributed via the free, ad-supported Hulu.com and the Hulu Plus subscription service beginning today.

“We are continually working to optimize the distribution of our premium content worldwide and are very pleased to work with Hulu,” said Ron Schneier, COO of MVR North America. “This new opportunity enables Mr. Bean content to be accessed by the millions who watch quality videos on this online platform. We are very excited about further expanding our content library with Hulu.”

MVR will add the following videos to Hulu’s library:

• Rowan Atkinson Live, a one-hour compendium of the comedian’s live performances from 1981 to 1986
• 14 episodes of the Mr. Bean Live Action Series
• More than 50 episodes of Mr. Bean: The Animated Series.

New York, USA – 10 May 2011 – myvideorights (MVR), has been selected as one of only four companies highlighted in Gartner Inc’s prestigious Cool Vendors in Media, 2011 report. The list highlights innovative companies that have the potential to change or affect the market in a significant way and are at the forefront of some of the more vexing challenges facing media companies: monetization, tracking content assets and audience engagement across multiple platforms and networks, and how to reimagine new and compelling content experiences by linking two media formats – print and video.

“We feel our inclusion in Gartner’s Cool Vendors in Media report is validation of myvideorights’ expertise and the importance of managing and monetizing premium online video content,” said Ron Schneier, COO of MVR North America. “We continue to expand our portfolio of exclusive video content and work with a wide range of clients across music, sports, entertainment, documentary and film to grow their online audiences, protect their valuable content and achieve new revenue streams.”

This year’s Cool Vendors in Media report found that online video consumption continues to soar and usage trends will continue to put pressure on the licensing infrastructures and processes for rights holders while generating considerable consumer usage data that will need to be mined by advertisers.

New York, 3 May 2011 – myvideorights (MVR), the expert in actively managing and monetizing professionally produced video online, today announced the continued growth of its portfolio of record labels with the addition of Robbins Entertainment, a leading U.S. dance music label. The partnership is a result of record labels’ increased recognition of the importance for dedicated management and protection of music videos online.

Among Robbins artists are Cascada, whose smash “Evacuate The Dancefloor” was certified platinum for over one million downloads, and September, whose “Cry For You” was recently certified gold for more than 500,000 downloads. Other Robbins artists include Afrojack, DHT, Darude, Lasgo, Kim Leoni, AnnaGrace and DJ Sammy. Through its Active Rights Management, MVR will manage the label’s video digital rights and distribute its exclusive video content online via branded channels across video sharing and social media sites as well as new platforms such as mobile and Internet TV. Incorporating pre-roll advertising within Robbins’ premium content MVR will offer advertisers unprecedented exposure.

“Robbins Entertainment has an incredibly popular, valuable catalogue of artists and hit songs and they’re at the forefront of incorporating technology-enabled distribution into the business. The label already has a strong fan base within social networks and we will help expand its online audience, protect the artists’ content while delivering new revenue streams for Robbins,” said Ron Schneier, COO of MVR North America.

“Millions of fans view our artists’ videos online and it’s integral to our business that we properly manage and protect these assets,” said Lisa Levy, VP Sales & Production for Robbins Entertainment. “We’re excited to have myvideorights as a partner to help us better manage our rights and monetize our premium video content much more effectively.”

New York, USA – 22 March 2011 – myvideorights (MVR), the expert in actively managing and monetizing professionally produced video online, today announced a deal with Ultra Music, an independent electronic dance music label. Through its Active Rights Management, MVR will manage Ultra Music’s digital rights and distribute the label’s content online via branded channels across video sharing and social media sites as well as new platforms such as mobile and Internet TV. Incorporating pre-roll advertising within Ultra’s premium content MVR will offer advertisers unprecedented exposure.

Ultra Music was the most played dance label in 2010 Billboard and won the award for “Best American Dance Label” for the fifth year in a row at the 25th Annual International Dance Music Awards in March 2010. The label’s A&R division handled the certified double platinum 2009 hit “I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)” featuring Pitbull and earned the acclaim of being the #1 watched music video on YouTube in 2009. Last month the label achieved more than 80 million views worldwide. The label represents popular artists including Tiësto, deadmau5, Benny Benassi, Kaskade, Armin van Buuren, and more.

“myvideorights is well-known for its successful work with music companies in Europe and we’re excited to bring this expertise to the U.S. market with Ultra Records,” said Ron Schneier, COO of MVR North America. “We are extremely pleased to have Ultra as our partner as they have a premier catalog of quality artists. Ultra is one of the top-viewed record labels online and MVR will help further grow that audience while giving advertisers access to over 15 million unique monthly viewers.”

“Ultra’s massive success on YouTube demonstrates intense demand for high quality dance music videos. After several years of success on our own, we needed to find the right partner to help us manage our rights and monetize our video content effectively,” said Elliott Walker, Senior Director of Digital Development and Distribution at Ultra. “myvideorights has both the tools and the people to generate the results we need. I’m excited to be working with MVR to further our digital business.”