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AOL acquires 5min Media and TechCrunch

Busy day in the internet, as Web giant AOL buys 5min Media (also in Hebrew) and TechCrunch (undisclosed, estimated at $75-$100M) to strengthen its content offering. Robert Scoble published a post earlier today (Tue.) with his analysis of the (then rumored) acquisition, definitely worth the read. Official press releases after the widget.

AOL Acquires 5min Media:

AOL Acquires 5min Media, Web’s Largest Video Content Syndication Platform. Combination of 5min Media and AOL’s Video Capabilities Creates Powerful End-to-End Offering.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AOL Inc. [NYSE: AOL] today announced it has acquired 5min Media, the Web’s largest video syndication platform.* The acquisition allows AOL to significantly expand its consumer offering of contextually relevant, high-quality video across its sites, increasing the AOL Network’s appeal to advertisers and is expected to further enhance the distribution and monetization of AOL-produced original video content throughout the Web.** Deal terms were not disclosed.

“Our acquisition of 5min Media is the latest in a number of steps we have taken this year to better position AOL to capture the growing video opportunity on the Web”
“Our acquisition of 5min Media is the latest in a number of steps we have taken this year to better position AOL to capture the growing video opportunity on the Web,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL. “AOL is building a video ecosystem for the next decade. 5min Media is the perfect complement to our powerful video capabilities — it provides a missing piece in the AOL value chain that completes our end-to-end video offering from content creation through syndication and distribution to the consumer experience and monetization.”

“AOL and 5min Media share the same excitement about the direction our industry is taking, and our complementary video capabilities make us a compelling fit and an attractive combination for content creators and publishers,” said Ran Harnevo, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, 5min Media. “We’ve seen rapid and successful growth as an independent organization and becoming part of AOL is a natural next step. We’re confident that AOL’s organizational horsepower, combined with the vast library, audience and syndication capabilities 5min Media offers, present compelling opportunities for AOL as well as the content creators we work with and the publishers we serve.”

Leading Video Syndication Network and Library to Enhance AOL’s Properties

5min Media is the world’s leading video syndication network with a library of more than 200,000 categorized, tagged and rated videos from more than 1,000 of the world’s largest media companies and professional independent video producers. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City with offices in Tel Aviv, 5min Media has been named the largest U.S. independent video property by comScore, with more than 20 million unique viewers and more than 130 million video streams (including ad and content videos) in the U.S. in August 2010. 5min Media’s growing network of 800 partner sites allows content creators to reach this audience of targeted viewers across 21 different verticals, including six verticals – Home, Food, Beauty / Fashion, Health, Travel and Pets – that lead their categories, according to comScore Video Metrix, August 2010. VideoSeed, 5min Media’s proprietary semantic technology, contextually matches the most relevant videos with a partner site’s text content to enhance the consumer experience and increase monetization rates.

AOL has already begun to integrate 5min Media’s video content on its sites through a commercial agreement executed prior to the acquisition. “With 5min Media we’ll be able to add more video inventory to our pages. Importantly, we’ll also be able to identify video content holes among our sites, tap our StudioNow capabilities to fill those needs and create a truly ‘demand informed’ video library,” Armstrong said.

Combination Completes Next Step in AOL’s Value Chain

With the addition of 5min Media, AOL will significantly increase its consumer offering in video programming and connect consumers with high-quality video. In January, AOL acquired StudioNow, the premier online platform for quality video content creation and distribution. With StudioNow, AOL has formed a fully functional platform to produce high-quality video content in a rapid, cost-effective and scalable way for both AOL as well as third-party publishers. In addition, AOL is forging exciting new partnerships to provide relevant content to specific audiences, including partnering with: The Ellen DeGeneres Show; Marlo Thomas; The Jonas Group and MGX Lab to found Cambio (www.cambio.com); and A Squared Entertainment LLC to create children’s content featuring Warren Buffett, Gisele Bündchen, Martha Stewart and the late Carl Sagan.

*comScore Media Metrix data, August 2010

**According to eMarketer, online video advertising spend is expected to grow from $1 billion in 2009 to more than $4 billion by 2014, making it the fastest growing format in online advertising. At the same time, the Cisco Visual Networking Index predicts that video will account for more than 60 percent of all consumer Internet traffic in 2013.

AOL to acquire TechCrunch Network of Sites

Leading Authority on Tech News Will Expand AOL’s Growing Offering of World-Class, Audience-Relevant Content

San Francisco, CA, September 28, 2010 – AOL Inc. [NYSE: AOL] today announced that it has agreed to acquire TechCrunch, Inc., the company that owns and operates TechCrunch and its network of websites dedicated to technology news, information and analysis. TechCrunch and its associated properties and conferences will join the AOL Technology Network while retaining their editorial independence, further bolstering AOL’s position as one of the world’s leading providers of high-quality, tech-oriented content. The announcement will be made on stage at TechCrunch Disrupt in San Francisco, CA.

Founded by Michael Arrington, TechCrunch operates a global network of dedicated properties from Europe to Japan, as well as vertically-oriented websites, including MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, TechCrunchIT, GreenTech, TechCrunchTV and CrunchBase. The TechMeme Leaderboard ranks TechCrunch as the No. 1 source of breaking tech news online, followed by AOL’s Engadget.*

“Michael and his colleagues have made the TechCrunch network a byword for breaking tech news and insight into the innovative world of start-ups, and their reputation for top-class journalism precisely matches AOL’s commitment to delivering the expert content critical to this audience,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL. “TechCrunch and its team will be an outstanding addition to the high-quality content on the AOL Technology Network, which is now a must-buy for advertisers seeking to associate their brands with leading technology content and its audience.”

Heather Harde, Chief Executive Officer of TechCrunch, said: “TechCrunch and AOL share a motivating passion for quality technology news and information, and we’re delighted about becoming part of the AOL family. This represents a compelling opportunity to extend the TechCrunch brand while complementing the great work of sites like Engadget and Switched. Our contributors, and our audiences, can look to the future with excitement about what we can build when we have the significant resources of AOL behind us.”

Michael Arrington, Founder and Co-Editor of TechCrunch, said: “Tim Armstrong and his team have an exciting vision for the future of AOL as a global leader in creating and delivering world-class content to consumers, be it through original content creation, partnerships or acquisitions. I look forward to working with everyone at AOL as we build on our reputation for independent tech journalism and continue to set the agenda for insight, reviews and collaborative discussion about the future of the technology industry.”

TechCrunch also hosts industry-leading conferences and events, including The Disrupt series, The Crunchies Awards and various meet-ups worldwide. These conferences bring together industry innovators, entrepreneurs and financing sources to exchange ideas, forge new relationships and discuss the current and future industry trends.

“Engagement with thought leaders is as important to AOL as our engagement with our contributors, audiences, publishers and advertisers, and TechCrunch’s conferences and websites will give us a promising, additional springboard to join and amplify these conversations. We’re committed to quality in everything we do at AOL, and look forward to working with Heather, Michael and the TechCrunch team to extend the brand,” said David Eun, President of AOL Media and Studios.

The AOL Technology Network consists of AOL’s tech-oriented properties including Engadget, the Web magazine about everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics; Switched, which covers the intersection of the digital world with entertainment, sports, art, fashion and lifestyle; TUAW, the unofficial Apple weblog; and DownloadSquad, the weblog about downloadable software and other computer subjects. The AOL Technology Network ranks in the top five for tech news according to comScore Media Metrix, August 2010 data, and leads the top five in average time spent and average visits per user.

This acquisition will further AOL’s strategy to become the global leader in sourcing, creating, producing and delivering high-quality, trusted, original content to consumers. TechCrunch will remain headquartered in San Francisco, CA, as a wholly owned AOL unit. Deal terms were not disclosed.

PixelPipe – Send & Share to 110 Social Networks

One of the applications that were officially introduced to the Symbian platform during Nokia World 2010 is PixelPipe, a content distribution gateway that allows users to publish text, photo, video and audio files once through various ‘Pipes‘, across over 100 social networks, including twitter, facebook, linkedin, youtube, blip.fm, twitpic, yfrog, dropbox, Google Buzz, Google Docs, and many-many more.

PixelPipe logoI first heard of PixelPipe at the #NokiaMeet gathering organized by Micky Fin at 1000Heads HQ in London. The next day, between the keynote lectures, business sessions, round table sessions and interview, I got a chance to chat with PixelPipe stuff at their booth (embedded video – RSS readers click here).

The feature I love about PixelPipe is the facebook Pipe of course – using the E72 I still haven’t found the application that allows me to share pictures to my wall. True, I often use the #fb hashtag in my twitpic uploads, but it shows the link, not the picture itself. So PixelPipe just became one of my favorite apps! You can download it from Ovi Store, free of course.

Stephen Elop wrapping up Nokia World 2010

Nokia’s newly appointed CEO, Stephen Elop, made a surprising guest appearance at Nokia World yesterday (Wednesday), to wrap up the event and present the winner of Nokia’s Calling All Innovators contest.

In a short speech, Elop emphasis the importance of Nokia’s developers community, saying ‘Nokia can build and market great devices, and offer added services with the cellular operators, but we need you [developers] to create the vibrancy and the eco-system we need to be successful in order to compete around the world’.

Watch Stephen’s full appearance in the video below [RSS readers: click here].

Nokia announces E7, C7 and C6 at Nokia World

Busy 2 days here in London, attending Nokia World 2010, trying to catch all the action, at the lectures and the Experience Lounge. I will write a longer post over the weekend, to sum-up my trip to Nokia World, but in the meantime – a few highlights.

Nokia World 2010 Keynote

Nokia World 2010 Keynote

This morning Nokia announced 4 devices (inclduing the N8 which I got to preview last month). All devices are touch-based, sporting AMOLED screens and sleek design. The C6 and C7 are almost identical, with minor differences in design and specifications. C7 is aimed higher of course, with a 3.5″ screen, internal 8GB storage and 350MB of internal memory. Both phones have an 8MP camera with an ability to take HD videos at 720p.

Nokia E7 pictures alongside iPhone 4

Nokia E7 pictures alongside iPhone 4

The E7 is a big device, weighing 170g, 4″ AMOLED display with clear and bright colors. The E7 features similar specifications as the N8, including the HDMI output and video capabilities (although shotting at 8MP, not 12MP). From a brief hands-on I had the device is most impressive, combining the multimedia capabilities of the N8 with the business value the E-Series is known for. Despite the keyboard, the device is roughly thin, a bit more than iPhone 4.

Stay tuned on @twitter for live updates.

See you @ Nokia World 2010

I’ll be attending Nokia World 2010 next week, Sep. 14-15, at London, UK, the first Israeli blogger to attend this yearly Nokia conference. I, along with several journalists, are flying to London as guests of Eurocom-Nokia (Nokia Israel), who are covering our expenses.

I’m arriving to London on Monday noon (the 13th) and will be leaving Wednesday night (the 15th). Not much time, and plenty of things to do (scroll down to my agenda), but I’d love to meet fellow Nokia World attendees,  facebook/twitter/LinkedIn friends in the area, or colleagues, for a beer (or burger, depending on the time).

Welcome to Nokia World

Nokia World will take place at ICC London ExCel, located at the center of London Docklands. The 2-day event is packed with keynote speakers, including Olli-Pekka Kallasvou, President & CEO, Nokia, Anssi Vanjokl, EVP Mobile Solutions, Nokia, Vittorio Colao, Group CEO, Vodafone, Sir Tim Berners-Lee (inventor of the world-wide-web), Paco Contreras, Group Product Manager, Microsoft, Kevin Thau, VP Mobile, Twitter, Michael Gartenberg, Altimeter Group, Adam Medros, VP, TripAdvisor, and many more.

Nokia World 2010 - The Experience Lounge

The Experience Lounge will feature pretty much everything Nokia and its business partners are offering, including latest products, offerings, services and applications, as well as a networking platform for mobile experts.

Here’s my agenda so far – if you have any suggestions, do add them in the comments and I’ll do my best to attend. You can follow me on twitter and foursquare for the latest updates, announcements, pictures, videos and check-ins.

Monday, Sep. 13th

Tuesday, Sep. 14th

Wednesday, Sep. 15th

See you in London !!

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Mobile & Media Consultant. I help startup companies launch products to the consumer market. Reach out: dvir.reznik [at] gmail.com
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This is my personal blog. The postings here do not represent the thoughts, intentions, plans or strategies of my past employers or of my clients. It is solely my opinion.