Rightster

Rightster Group plc

Type	Public
Traded as	LSE: RSTR
Founded	2011 (2011)
Headquarters	London, UK
Area served	Worldwide
Founder(s)	Charlie Muirhead
Key people	Patrick Walker (CEO)
Industry	Internet
Revenue	£1.97 million (2013)[1]
Employees	229
Website	www.rightster.com
Current status	Active

Rightster is a global b2b video network that provides cloud-based services to optimise the distribution, sourcing, audience engagement and monetisation of live and on-demand video. The company describes its software and services as an “upload once - commercialise everywhere” solution for sports, fashion, news, entertainment and viral rights holders to maximise the reach and value of their video content. Rightster also operates a multi-channel network (MCN) on YouTube, consisting of over 3800 channels.^[2]

Rightster has 200 staff members across 11 offices around the world including London, New York, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Madrid, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Melbourne and Bangalore.^[3]

History

Rightster was founded in May 2011 by British entrepreneur Charlie Muirhead with the vision of enabling media businesses to “overcome huge fragmentation in the online video market with a single technology platform for engaging audiences and transacting with optimal efficiency”.^[4]

The initial focus of the business was on the fashion industry, Rightster’s first customer being the British Fashion Council (BFC).^[5]

Through Rightster’s platform, network and services, the BFC reached more than 200 publishers in over 130 countries, unlocking new revenue streams with little upfront investment or risk.^[6]

The BFC’s live rights enabled Rightster to recruit key publishers with an interest in fashion content. Rightster subsequently used this connection to recruit more content owners and publishers both in and outside the fashion industry, expanding its operations into sports, news, entertainment and viral rights.

Acquisitions

VML

In October 2012, Rightster acquired approximately 25 per cent. of the share capital of VML. VML operates under the brandname ‘Viral Spiral’ and connects third party brands, agencies, production companies and publishers with the owners of viral content. Rightster entered into an agreement with VML such that it is the exclusive global syndication distribution and monetisation partner for all VML content being uploaded to third party publishers platforms, including YouTube.^[7]

Preview Networks

In February 2013, Rightster acquired Preview Networks, a European distributor of film trailers and branded content,:^{[8][9][10][11]}

"The deal extends Rightster’s YouTube services across Europe and makes Rightster the leading distributor of movie trailers in this region. Preview Networks brings over 300 content rights holders and 2500 publishers to Rightster’s global community and broadens Rightster’s geographic presence in key European markets including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the Nordics" [32 from existing Wiki page.^[12]

Sport Syndicator

In September 2013, Rightster acquired Sport Syndicator, a UK display advertising sales agency,:^[13][14]

“The purchase brings Mediasyndicator’s portfolio of over 40 sports sites, including Football League Interactive, Rugby Dump and Club Website into the Rightster network. This collection of sites will extend the reach of Rightster’s network by 280 million advertisement impressions and over 8 million unique users”.^[13]

Base79

In July 2014, Rightster acquired Base79.^[15]

IPO

In November 2013, Rightster raised £22.4 million ($36 million) via an IPO on London’s Alternative Investment Market, AIM, making it the first YouTube MCN to go public. Rightster said it intends to use money raised via the IPO to fund platform upgrades and acquisitions.^[16][17][18]

Services

Rightster provides software and services that support the end-to-end lifecycle of online video distribution, sourcing, audience engagement, and monetization.

The company’s proprietary cloud-based technology platform connects rights holders, publishers, and advertisers to maximise the reach and value of live and video-on-demand (VoD) content through licenced, ad-funded, direct to consumer subscription service or paid placement revenue models.

Rightster’s technology platform is supported by additional services including media sales, audience development, content marketing, paid placement, strategic advisory and creative solutions.

Partners

At the time of writing, Rightster’s network consists of 750 content owners and over 6,500 publishers. Rightster’s content partners have included:

• The Australian Football League ^[19][20][21]
• AFP ^[22][23]
• Barcroft Media ^[24]
• Condé Nast ^[25]
• The International Hockey Federation (FIH) ^{[26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]}
• The Guardian ^[34][35]
• ITN ^[36][37][38]
• The Press Association ^[39][40]
• Sports News Television (SNTV) ^[41]

Events that have been live-streamed by Rightster include:

• Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton ^[36][38]
• The Leveson Inquiry ^[36][37]
• Mercedes-Benz New York Fashion Week ^[42]
• London Fashion Week ^[43][44]
• Rabobank Hockey World Cup ^{[26][27][28][29][30][31]}
• The Australian Football League ^[21]
• AIBA World Series of Boxing ^[45]
• Vogue Festival 2013 ^[25]

See also

Multi Channel Network

References