BRIGHTCOVE has decided to stop developing its YouTube-like Internet video portal, and shift its focus entirely to white-label video services for content publishers. The portal will now “run itself” at Brightcove.tv, while Brightcove.com is retained for growing the core technology business. Brightcove technology serves video on some of the Internet’s top destinations, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Media 3.0.
COMCAST has reportedly purchased BuddyTV, a TV community site. BuddyTV provides news, commentary, and networking focused on America’s favorite past-time – watching TV. The site receives 3 million unique visitors per month, and is expected to be integrated with recently-launched Fancast.com.
YAHOO has launched a beta version of MASH, its new social networking site. The service will compete with MySpace and Facebook, allowing users to connect and share media with friends and family. Yahoo also announced the acquisition of BuzzTracker.com, a start-up that monitors blogs and gauges the most popular topics.
THE SCREEN ACTORS GUILD will have jurisdiction over Quarterlife, the upcoming Internet-only drama. 13 Guild members are involved in the series, which SAG’s Doug Allen called “another sign that the Internet is maturing into a productive distribution channel for professionally produced content.” SAG has signed 200 Internet projects in the last two years.
SPIRALFROG has launched its free, ad-supported music downloading service, with 700,000 tracks. The selection includes tracks from Universal, and the company is looking to add music from all the major music companies. Spiralfrog is the first ad-supported music service to launch — but several more are on the horizon.