While watching the Boston Marathon from his apartment window, Kyle noticed a small crowd of onlookers huddled together in the middle of Beacon Street, just past mile 23. As hundreds of runners shifted to the right of the group, volunteers ushered the pack safely across the road. He grabbed his phone, shot a video of the scene, and posted it to YouTube that same evening. By Tuesday morning, Kyle’s video had gone viral, racking up over one million views in less than 24 hours. The video was so popular, Jukin Media reached out to Kyle, asking if he’d be interested in selling the video content rights for licensing purposes. He agreed, and now Kyle’s 90-second clip is part of Jukin’s massive library of user-generated video content.
Over the past six years, Jukin has become the go-to source for advertising agencies, digital publishers, and TV producers looking for original video content to wow mass audiences. Day and night, the media company scours the internet for user-generated video with the potential to go viral. If it’s funny, inspirational, entertaining, or newsworthy, Jukin Media is all over it. The company then pinpoints specific content and purchases the licensing rights. After that, Jukin licenses these original videos to media outlets for a fee. People who initially provided the video content also receive licensing revenue, making UGC a profitable market all around.
“There are videos we licensed five years ago that are still being used by partners, and they’re still generating revenue for the people who filmed them,” says Mike Skogmo, Vice President of Communications and Marketing. “That’s the power of really compelling video; it’s universal and timeless.”
Jukin Media hosts a library of 40,000+ videos on the Brightcove Video Cloud platform, which has helped the company in presenting clips to TV producers and other potential partners. The platform’s preview feature allows Jukin to easily identify and organize content relevant to a customer’s needs. Videos load and play quickly, giving them a convenient way to preview footage. “It’s a huge time-saver for our clients,” says Skogmo. “The convenience to search and preview is extremely important to our customers.”
To learn more about Jukin Media and the future of user-generated video content, read the Brightcove case study here.