Ustream

Ustream

Blue Logo 2013
Type of site
 Video streaming
Available in English, German, Hungarian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish and Korean
Owner IBM
Website ustream.tv
Alexa rank Negative increase 1,558 (February 2015)[1]
Commercial Yes
Registration Optional
Launched March 2007 (2007-03)
Current status Active
Native client(s) on iOS, Android

Ustream is a company founded in 2007 that provides video streaming services to more than 80 million viewers and broadcasters. It is based in San Francisco and has more than 180 employees in their San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest offices. Company partners include Panasonic, Samsung, Logitech, CBS News, PBS NewsHour, Viacom, and IMG Media.[2] It received $11.1 million in Series A funding for new product development from DCM (Doll Capital Management) and investors Labrador Ventures and Band of Angels.[3] It is owned by an American company of the same name, Ustream, Inc., based in San Francisco, California. Ustream was one of the live game streaming services for Sony's PlayStation 4.[4]

History

Ustream was born when the founders (John Ham, Brad Hunstable, and Dr. Gyula Feher) wanted a way for their friends in the Army, who were deployed overseas in Iraq during the war, to be able to communicate with their families. A product like Ustream would provide them with a way to talk to all of their relatives at once when free time in the war zone was limited.[5]

Launching their public beta in March 2007, Ustream is one of a series of live video sites, including Justin.tv, Livestream, and Bambuser. The company has seen significant growth in the political, entertainment, and technology fields.[6]

Ustream has witnessed many notable people streaming from politicians such as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards,[7] to artists like Tori Amos and the Plain White T's.[8] Notable lifecasters such as iJustine and E-TARD The LifeCaster[9] have made their mark on Ustream as well. The technology community has also adopted Ustream to include Robert Scoble, Leo Laporte, and Chris Pirillo.

On January 21, 2016, IBM acquired Ustream. It will be combined with Aspera, Clearleap, and Cleversafe to form IBM's cloud video unit. IBM envisioned the use of its technology as part of an enterprise video offering.[10]

Paid service

Ustream's basic service is free and supported by advertising revenue. A paid service called Watershed was formerly available, charging broadcasters on a per-viewer basis and allowing either ad-free service or broadcaster-supplied advertisements.[11] In 2013, Ustream phased out the Watershed program for their Pro Broadcasting Services, based on monthly charges to broadcasters.[12]

Automatic content blocking

Ustream uses a copyright enforcement service provided by Vobile, which uses a proprietary fingerprinting system to automatically detect copyrighted content.[13][14] This system has been known to generate what are considered by some to be false positives, blocking content that should fall under fair use, or which has been specifically licensed by the stream originator. In one such incident, the official livecast of the 2012 Hugo Award ceremony was terminated because it incorporated authorized clips of nominated television shows and movies, causing "a flood of livid Twitter messages". The following day, Ustream apologized for the incident and temporarily disabled automatic blocking while they adjusted the system to "better balance the needs of broadcasters, viewers, and copyright holders".[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ "ustream.tv - Traffic Details from Alexa". Alexa Internet, Inc. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  2. ↑ CrunchBase Ustream Company Profile" CrunchBase, April 19, 2013
  3. ↑ Cynopsis: Digital. April 14, 2008.
  4. ↑ "PS4 gameplay can be broadcast via Ustream profiles, says Ustream's David Thompson". PSU.com. June 18, 2013.
  5. ↑ WebWare, Merry Christmas, Mom: Ustream links soldiers with home, December 14, 2007
  6. ↑ "Ustream.TV Experiences Significant Business Growth; Company Adds New CEO, Industry Partners and Thousands of Users". Businesswire.com. 2007-11-13. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  7. ↑ Mark 'Rizzn' Hopkins View Comments (2007-11-26). "YouTube and UStream Go Political". Mashable.com. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  8. ↑ Brad Hunstable, Founder November 16th, 2007 (2007-11-16). "The Ustream.TV Blog » Blog Archive » Plain White T's Event Serves 130,000". Ustream.tv. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
  9. ↑ "E-TARD The 24/7 LifeCaster". E-TARD.TV. September 5, 2006. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  10. ↑ "IBM Confirms Acquisition Of UStream, Forms New Cloud Video Unit". TechCrunch. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  11. ↑ John Ham, Founder February 17th, 2009 (2009-02-17). "The Ustream.TV Blog » Blog Archive » Today, Ustream launches Watershed". Ustream.tv. Retrieved 2010-06-02.
  12. ↑ Ustream, (2013-04-22). "Looking for Watershed? You've found something better.". Ustream.tv. Retrieved 2013-04-22.
  13. ↑ Hunstable, Brad (2010-07-16). "Launch of Improved Measures to Protect Copyright Holders and Vobile Integration". Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  14. ↑ "Vobile Core Technology". Retrieved 2012-09-03.
  15. ↑ Ha, Anthony (September 3, 2012), "Ustream Apologizes For Shutting Down The Hugo Awards Livestream, Says It Will 'Recalibrate'", TechCrunch
  16. ↑ Gross, Doug (September 4, 2012), Ustream apologizes for killing Hugo Awards webcast, CNN

External links

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