Ooyala, the leading video streaming and monetization platform provider, today announced that it has developed a Twitter Video Card solution, in close collaboration with Twitter, that enables Ooyala customers a turnkey solution to embed videos directly into their Twitter streams for instant playback. Previously, users were only able to include a link to a video in Twitter. This solution inserts a thumbnail of the video directly into the stream so followers can click and play directly without leaving Twitter.

Ooyala Twitter Video Card Solution in @ESPNCFB Twitter stream (Photo: Business Wire)

First deployed by sports broadcaster ESPN to better serve its 24 million online video viewers, Ooyala’s Twitter Card solution provides media companies, broadcasters and brands a new way to distribute and monetize video content delivered via Twitter across desktops and mobile devices. In addition, the solution can increase the discovery and sharing of video content and optimize engagement through social and mobile by eliminating the barriers to view content directly on Twitter.

“Twitter is a growing source of inbound referral traffic and outbound content distribution for online media publishers and broadcasters,” said Jonathan Wilner, senior director, business product management at Ooyala. “Consumers today are at the intersection of social and mobile, and demanding easy and fast access to video content. Our ability to deliver video directly into the Twitter stream is a major step forward for publishers who want to drive viewer engagement in real-time.”

As a result of the close collaboration with Twitter, the Ooyala solution has been certified by Twitter, meaning customers can quickly and easily integrate and distribute video content directly into their streams across all platforms -- including desktop, mobile web and native smartphone and tablet apps for both iOS and Android -- and trust that the player will work seamlessly within Twitter. The solution works via an Ooyala Twitter SDK and automatic hosting for Twitter Cards. The turnkey API from Ooyala automatically generates the necessary Twitter tags so that a video can be inserted onto a video landing page to enable Twitter Cards.

Powerful Solution when paired with Discovery

The technology works seamlessly with Ooyala Discovery, which enables video content providers to increase view-related revenue by algorithmically recommending highly relevant content within the Ooyala Player. For example, if a user watches a highlight from a football game within the ESPN Twitter stream, they could receive a recommendation to also watch highlights from the post-game press conference. Personalized content recommendations can further drive user engagement and monetization for each video share in Twitter.

Opening Revenue Streams

In addition to benefiting consumers, this technology opens up new revenue streams for Ooyala customers. It enables the distribution of ad-supported video content across client-owned and consumer Twitter properties, magnified by sharing tendencies of Twitter users. It also opens the door for video integration into Promoted Tweet advertising campaigns across Twitter.

Customers that take advantage of Ooyala analytics will also have extensive data on the performance of their videos through Twitter Video Cards, in addition to the data they already receive on their websites and/or apps, allowing them to further optimize their video content.

About Ooyala

Ooyala delivers personalized video experiences across all screens and is the leader in online video management, publishing, analytics and monetization. Our integrated suite of technologies and services give content owners the power to expand audiences through deep insights that drive increased viewer engagement and revenue from video.

Companies using Ooyala technology include Telstra, ESPN, Pac-12 Enterprises, Miramax, Bloomberg, Telegraph Media Group, Telefonica, The North Face, Rolling Stone, Dell, Sephora and Yahoo! Japan. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Ooyala has offices in New York City, London, Sydney, Tokyo and Guadalajara, Mexico. The company works with premier reseller and technology partners throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region. For more information visit www.ooyala.com.

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