Published on the 15/07/2020 | Written by Jonathan Cotton

Media-tech start-up brings better video to website giant…

Aussie media-tech Oovvuu has been named a Feature Technology Partner by WordPress VIP, in a deal that will see the Sydney-based company’s technology integrated into some of the world’s biggest news websites.

The Oovvuu product is a tool for publishers that suggests – and makes available with a single click – videos relevant to the content they’re producing. Using machine learning technology, Oovvuu ‘reads’ content makers news articles and recommends videos that matches that content.

Simply put, publishers lack the video they need, broadcasters have the video, but lack the distribution. Oovvuu brings to two together on the WordPress platform, letting publishers discover, preview and publish the videos in one click. Full ad server integration is part of the service, allowing publishers to make money on every view.

“The future of news-telling will be video-led, but given recent scandals, it’s unlikely that will be built by Facebook or Google.”

Launched in Sydney in late 2014, the company counts Reuters, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The Guardian, and Australia’s Seven West Media among its clients.

“Oovvuu is built by journalists for journalists,” says Ricky Sutton, founder of Oovvuu.

“Like WordPress VIP, we recognise publishers and broadcasters have public trust and a burning passion to report the news.

“We built the tech that binds them together and now we are focused on working with the WordPress community to bring our common mission to the world.

“We track news consumption habits daily and it shows us the future of news-telling will be video-led, but given recent scandals, it’s unlikely that will be built by Facebook or Google,” says Sutton.

The deal is a milestone achievement for the Australian media tech startup and one that comes with huge opportunities: As the global video technology partner, Oovvuu technology will now be integrating with some of the world’s leading news websites. Other WordPress Featured Technology Partners include Facebook, Getty Images and Yoast.

The win follows last year’s successful funding round, led by Cygnet Capital, which saw Oovvuu raise more than AU$4.5 million in preparation for an anticipated ‘hyper-growth’ phase. A year earlier the company raised AU$3.7 million from angel investments.

As for WordPress VIP, that service was launched by WordPress’s parent company Automattic in 2007 as its high-end managed hosting platform for enterprise and large-scale websites (think major publishers with high-traffic websites with tens of millions of page views).

In addition to the standard WordPress features, WordPress VIP provides advanced functionality, including Facebook Instant Articles and Google AMP integrations, A/B testing and advanced localisation functionality, among other things. VIP client WordPress sites operate under very strict coding standards – with new coding requiring review by WordPress techies – and provides full support, and unlimited storage and bandwidth.

While WordPress VIP doesn’t provide prices upfront, the service can range in price from around US$5,000 per month to US$25,000 or more per month, depending on requirements.

Currently Automattic, is, by audience, the fifth-largest digital company in the US, publishing around 37 percent of the web’s content.

“WordPress VIP is experiencing significant growth and we’re poised to deliver transformational results for brands who require best-in-class digital experiences,” says WordPress VIP CEO Nick Gernert. “We’re excited to partner with Oovvuu to bring powerful video syndication tools to our customers.”