NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Major global news events in 2005 such as the Tsunami, the London bombings and Hurricane Katrina, coupled with accelerating adoption of digital video distribution by the marketing industry saw a record number of broadcast-standard video clips being delivered from The NewsMarket to the news media in 2005, according to data released today by the company.
The NewsMarket, Inc. (www.thenewsmarket.com) is the online, on-demand broadcast video platform where marketers distribute digital video to journalists. News outlets requested more than 128,000 clips from The NewsMarket in 2005, an increase of nearly 95 percent over the year before.
The number of news outlets that source video from The NewsMarket also grew -- from 4,000 to 7,500 during the year -- an increase of nearly 90 percent. The top media outlets sourcing content from The NewsMarket include CNN, CNBC, BBC, Fox News and Bloomberg TV. The number of requests from the top 25 media outlets in the world tripled in 2005.
The news and marketing industries are in the throes of migrating from analog distribution of video content via satellite and tape-by-mail to Web-based delivery. The NewsMarket, which has been releasing annual data on the growth in digital delivery of video content since 2003, is the only Web-based platform that enables news media outlets in 140 countries to more efficiently source stock footage and video news announcements from companies, international organizations and government agencies.
The amount of video content that the marketing industry produced and made available for digital delivery grew by 75 percent in 2005, as more than 10,000 new broadcast-standard video clips were added to www.thenewsmarket.com online archive.
Among the organizations that opted for digital delivery of their news announcements in 2005 are AOL, Nissan Motor Co., Volvo Cars, the International Monetary Fund, ITT Industries, Pfizer, Medtronic, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence, Schering Plough, AMD, the Mexican Tourism Authority, and the International Olympic Council. Digital delivery is not only immediate and less expensive, it is also available to journalists 24/7.
This sharp growth caps a year in which the overall marketplace witnessed breakthrough advances for video content, from the proliferation of hand-held consumer viewing options to further content sharing synergies among media and the Internet. Major video initiatives by companies such as Google, Yahoo!, CBS, AP and Reuters underscored the shift in the marketplace to closer integration of video and the Web.
"Based on the most recent data available, we expect growth of digital video content distribution in 2006 to nearly triple this year," says Shoba Purushothaman, CEO & Co-founder of The NewsMarket. "Clients are creating and distributing more video than ever before and more than 70% of renewing contracts were for increased spend.
"The key driver in choosing to go digital for all these organizations was the recognition that the news industry today operates on an on-demand, 24/7 and global basis. Going digital allows these organizations to ensure that their video reaches the widest and deepest pool of journalists," Purushothaman added.
Additionally, by going digital, distribution costs are cut by as much as 50%, according to data tracked by The NewsMarket.
The NewsMarket also released its annual rankings of the most popular video clips requested by journalists from around the world. Despite the surge in demand around the Tsunami and Katrina, the most popular video clips downloaded in 2005 were from the automotive sector: video illustrating safety features by Volvo Cars and the launch of the 2005 Jeep(R) Gladiator concept vehicle. Also grabbing media attention was content from the National Cancer Institute about cancerous cells, cancer surgery and digital mammography.
About The NewsMarket
The NewsMarket, Inc. is the only video archive and distribution platform that enables journalists from around the world to find, preview and download free broadcast-standard video over the Internet. CNN, CNBC, local television affiliates, as well as NYTimes.com, BusinessWeek.com, and Forbes.com are some of the media outlets that rely on The NewsMarket for free video content. Organizations such as The American Red Cross, UNICEF, BMW, DaimlerChrysler Google, Motorola, Yahoo!, General Motors, Volvo, Vonage and the U.S. Government use The NewsMarket to manage their broadcast media relations. Headquartered in New York, The NewsMarket has operations in London, San Francisco, Munich, Singapore, Hong Kong and Mumbai.
The The NewsMarket, Inc. logo can be found at http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2260