AP Launch New Video Archive Platform

The Associated Press has unveiled a new video archive platform.
This will support the full-scale expansion of its stock footage business. Responding to increased demand for online video from digital customers, the platform will give new and existing customers improved access to AP’s vast historical archive.
Customers will have access to AP’s newly digitized archive content, which contains more than 1.3 million global news and entertainment stories dating back to the beginning of the 20th century. This will be available alongside British Movietone’s iconic footage, which includes a vast quantity of British and international news stories covering the period 1895 to 1986.
The new platform is the latest in a series of improvements to AP’s video archive. In February, AP began to digitize its back catalogue, which will see 32,000 hours of footage and film stock digitized in high definition by mid-2013. In addition, AP announced a deal in November 2011 to represent British Movietone in key territories, as part of AP’s strategy to expand its list of content partners and build the definitive online marketplace for archive footage. Other content partners include the Press Association and KRT, the state broadcaster of North Korea.
The video archive platform allows online downloads and licensing of footage, while offering a range of new specialist features to enable customers to search, organize and share research. In addition to supporting the traditional "a la carte" pricing model, the new platform will offer a subscription service.
"AP’s footage revenues have grown steadily in recent years with sales in 2011 growing by 27 percent. The overall market for online video news across Europe and Asia is predicted to grow annually by up to 13 percent and 16 percent, respectively, and AP sees a great opportunity for archive footage within these sectors," said Alwyn Lindsey, director of AP video archive. "We believe the digital expansion of our footage business will allow us to better service existing customers and better target new market segments. This includes digital publishers who are looking for quick and easy access to richer video footage to engage their audiences."
Lindsey continued: "Our archive is an incredible visual document of the people and the events that have shaped the past century, and includes footage covering two world wars, the Titanic and Hindenburg disasters, the Diamond Jubilees of Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II, Astronaut John Glenn making space-flight history, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, as well as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe and many others. This market-leading platform with its newly digitized content and a growing list of content partners will offer customers access to the widest array of digital news and historical footage and position AP as the leading player in the archive footage business."
The new archive platform forms part of AP’s video business transformation program – a multimillion-dollar upgrade to transform AP’s entire video business.
"Not only is AP’s news now delivered to customers in HD, we are also able to deliver it on more platforms than ever before,” said Daisy Veerasingham, senior vice president and head of AP’s video business internationally. “Earlier this year we announced the beta launch of AP Video Hub, a global platform for the online delivery of broadcast- quality video news, catering to the increased demand for video news from digital publishers and news-centric websites. The entire investment in the video archive is key for AP to retain our leadership in video news."
Further functionality and newly digitized content will continue to be added to the platform in the coming months.
www.aparchive.com