"We are thrilled to get both the backing of such a strong group of strategic investors and a major distribution agreement with AOL," said the "Father of ColdFusion," Jeremy Allaire (pictured), now Chairman and CEO of Internet TV start-up Brightcove. Allaire was referring to the 'Triple Whammy' announcement yesterday that Brightcove had completed a major ($16M) strategic financing round, forged a groundbreaking video content distribution partnership with AOL, and appointed Barry Diller, Chairman and CEO of IAC/InterActiveCorp and Chairman of Expedia, Inc., to the Brightcove Board of Directors.

Brightcove's offering is a complete Internet TV service for video publishers – ranging from small independent producers to major media companies – who want to build their businesses by distributing and monetizing their video programming through a variety of broadband channels including their own web properties, networks of web affiliates, and other consumer-facing Internet services.

Four companies – AOL, IAC/InterActiveCorp,The Hearst Corporation, and Allen & Company LLC – have joined with existing Brightcove investors Accel Partners and General Catalyst Partners to invest $16.2 million in Brightcove. The investments, says Allaire, complete a Series B financing round that will fuel the company's growth and the launch of its products and services.

"The opportunities these investors bring to Brightcove, combined with the relationships we are already developing, put us in an incredible position to deliver our open Internet TV service and realize our mission to transform the media landscape by enabling video publishers to build broadband businesses that reach consumers directly through the Internet," said Allaire.

In a separate industry milestone, he continued, Brightcove signed a significant and innovative content distribution agreement with AOL, the largest investor in the Series B round.

As a result of the content distribution agreement with AOL, video publishers using Brightcove will have the option to syndicate their video content directly to AOL.com (http://www.aol.com), and the companies will market a co-branded version of the Brightcove service as the self-service platform for publishing video on AOL.com. Moreover, through the syndication to AOL, publishers will be able to generate revenue from the advertising and pay media sales of their content on AOL.com and other video gateways on the AOL network of web properties.

"America Online's partnership and investment with Brightcove builds on AOL's existing, industry-leading video offering," said Jonathan F. Miller, Chairman & CEO of America Online, Inc. "By working with Brightcove, AOL is taking another important step forward in rounding-out our video offerings, providing consumers with a more robust and complete menu to choose from. This initiative, in conjunction with other significant programming partnerships, including our recent AOL-Warner Bros.' 'In2TV' announcement, takes AOL.com to a whole new level in this space, helping to advance our goal of being the best destination for video content on the web."

The partnership with AOL is the first in a series of commercial agreements related to content publishing and distribution of the Brightcove service. Brightcove is working with the other strategic investors as well as a variety of other companies in the industry on a range of commercial opportunities that will bring more content to consumers and expand the reach that Brightcove can give video producers and programmers who want to build Internet TV businesses.

Brightcove is currently available in an invitation-only commercial preview, which is being used by a variety of publishers ranging from independent producers to large cable broadcasters. Using the open online service, publishers are able to reach consumers through a wide range of broadband channels on the Internet while generating revenue from advertising and pay media sales they control. Brightcove will be generally available in 2006.