While Vimeo has actually been around for a little longer than YouTube, the video streaming site has never enjoyed the same level of popularity, despite often adding new features first. Now instead of fighting the video streaming giant on its own terms, Vimeo plans to attract independent creators by simply offering them more money, and it’s bringing in some outside help to do that.
Vimeo announced today that it plans to acquire VHX, a platform for what are essentially white-label video streaming services: It provides the infrastructure, while the client provides the content. Vimeo obviously has video streaming infrastructure in place, but what it didn’t have is VHX’s monetization tools, or the talent that created them.
“Online video is expanding from a few, mainstream subscription services into a flourishing world of interest-based streaming channels, much like the evolution from broadcast to cable television,” Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor said in a statement. “Vimeo is home to the world’s leading video creators and the viewers who love them, and we’re excited to add VHX’s team and technology to our streaming marketplace.”
VHX was founded in 2010, and says that there are currently more than 30,000 subscribers across more than 100 channels powered by its platform, according to Variety. There are currently nearly 10,000 video-on-demand titles powered by the company’s platform.
The terms of the deal haven’t been made public, but the 22-member VHX team will be joining Vimeo. VHX co-founder and CEO Jamie Wilkinson will report to Trainor.
“We couldn’t ask for a better partner than Vimeo,” Wilkinson said. “Adding our platform to Vimeo’s massive community of creators and consumers means we’ll be able to move faster, and help creators large and small succeed in the over-the-top streaming market.”
With the addition of VHX, Vimeo says it can now provide a complete subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) solution for “individual creators, niche programmers and major media partners.” This includes the Vimeo site itself, as well as the ability to power SVOD channels across websites, mobile platforms, and apps.
Vimeo offers a number of other perks, including what it calls “best-in-industry” revenue share, but it still remains to be seen if these increased monetization opportunities will be enough to pull creators away from the massive potential audience YouTube offers.
