Making A Pitch With Mike Arrington In The Background

We’re making our pitch to some vc’s at Web 2.0. Michael Arrington is sitting at a table next to us, writing a story for TechCrunch.

Michael leans over and says he should take notes for a post.

We all laugh. He points to his digital recorder and says he has it recorded.  More laughs. He was joking, of course, at least I think so. .

Mike — Go ahead! Write it up! It’s fine with us! .

Brightcove’s Lofty, Diverse Ambitions

Sources tell Om Malik that Brightcove is looking for an additonal $55M in Series C funding, at a pre-money valuation of $180M.  Wow.  On Sunday, they posted a statement on their blog outlining their market position in reaction to some confusion about what they’re doing.  My interpretation is that their ambition is to:

1. Win in the TV-to-web play, bringing the hundreds of cable television channels to a web site near you. 
2. Win in giving indie production studios direct access to their audiences (undermining their existing distribution partners?). 
3. And win in the consumer markets, both on the amateur video production side and on the consumer web / blog publishing side.

Lofty goals.  Diverse goals.  

Splashcast wishes Brightcove the best of luck with goals 1 and 2.  However, we believe goal 3 could be their achilles heal.  Why risk diluting their focus, R&D resources, money, and marketing message on such a very different market & product? There is already some confusion in the blogosphere regarding their vision and I’m not sure their recent positioning statement helps clarify.  That said, I respect Jeremy Allaire (their CEO) and look forward to the road ahead!