Conviva: How Unfortunate...

So news broke this AM of Conviva raising a $20MM round to fund future development of their "C3" platform, articles below:

• http://newteevee.com/2008/08/25/conviva-raises-20m-for-live-video/
• http://venturebeat.com/2008/08/25/content-delivery-platform-conviva-raises-20m-in-new-funding-but-wont-talk-about-the-technology/

While details of Conviva's platform are not widely known, it is yet another company bringing technology to a business problem. I am sure that Conviva will end up throwing around popular buzz items of interest such as "lower cost, increased quality", etc.; they don't address fundamentals of the online video business. Live events remain in their infancy online and it is challenging to get millions of people to use a digital platform as it requires heavy promotion through traditional channels (even NBC didn't nail this with the Olympics).

There are some large scale live events taking place this week, The Democrats will be streaming their convention live via. Level3, Silverlight, and Move Networks. NBCU just completed streaming the Olympics live via. Silverlight. This fall the NFL will be streaming their games online with multiple camera angles. Conviva has yet to break into any of these large accounts... and ultimately the success of any video startup will hinge on buy in by a major media conglomerate to supply both content and an industry "check" of approval.

Then there is the "Akamai Problem"; that is do I believe the incumbent CDNs will allow a startup to take away traffic from their networks? Absolutely not; and I would look for Akamai and others to continue to sign and push for strong contracts that limit the total traffic that can be carried on 3rd party networks. I also would assume that increased pricing pressure within the global CDN market may push the cost per minute/gig and associated 95/5 models to at or below what the delivery cost via. Conviva may ultimately be.

As I mentioned in my last post, in this market you have to be more than technology to be successful. Conviva would be wise to learn from Ooyala, Brightcove, and Move Networks...