1cast aims to make broadcast news massively appealing online
In a world of quick blog posts, camera phone videos and micro-messaging services like Twitter, 1cast says there is still a place for traditional broadcast news on the web. It’s confident it has the distribution platform to prove it.
The problem, as far as the company is concerned, is that thus far the quickness of information on the Internet hasn’t meshed well with the more slow-to-form nature of broadcast television news. 1cast believes its real-time aggregation and delivery will change this system up.
While more content is always good for consumers, new revenue streams are what matters to the content providers and 1cast promises to offer just that to its partners. The service claims to have “major broadcast network” partnerships but declined to name them at this time.
So while content is yet known, a glimpse of the screenshot below should give you some idea of what this service will be.
Is it just me or does this kind of look like Hulu for broadcast news? Hulu is the NBC and Fox-backed online video distribution site that serves up premium content for free supported by advertising. It’s been growing very well.
With terms like “clips” and “make your own cast” it also kind of reminds me of RedLasso, the video clipping service, as NewTeeVee first noticed. Of course, if 1cast actually has content partners, it won’t have the legal problems RedLasso has had.
1cast announces its first round of funding today led by Eagle River Holdings. Alongside its funding announcement, it has rolled out a trial beta version of its service that you can sign up for on the site. A more proper open beta test will follow with the company hoping for a roll out sometime in the coming months. The amount of the funding was not disclosed.
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About the Author, MG Siegler
MG Siegler writes about technology trends and new media for VentureBeat, with a focus on mobile topics, social elements and key news stories. Before that, MG wrote about technology on his blog, ParisLemon. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan where he studied film. He's previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where he did web development. He now lives in San Francisco.