Akimbo, an Internet video provider, is now introducing a turnkey service for content companies who want to deliver VOD through their own Web sites.
A B2B product, the VOD solution includes a consumer program guide, download manager, content-publishing system and advertising- and program-rights-management capabilities.
Thomas Frank, previously former COO of RealNetworks, is leading the venture. He is now president and CEO of Akimbo. The service will compete with services offered by firms like Brightcove and the Platform.
The Akimbo VOD system, which uses Microsoft Windows-based digital rights management, can handle a variety of business models for Internet-delivered video including ad-supported, transactional, subscription, download-to-own and download-to-burn. It includes a customizable user interface, as well as a fully integrated backend management system to handle all transactions, billing and advertising.
To support the VOD solution, the San Mateo, CA-based firm secured just under $4 million in new financing from venture firms and previous investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers and Zone Ventures. Akimbo, founded in 2003, has about 40 employees.
