Digital Dealmakers: Ted Briscoe

By Daisy Whitney

The player: Ted Briscoe, CEO of Vibe Solutions, parent company of video service Pyro.TV

The play: Vibe Solutions recently introduced Pyro.TV, a site that organizes, aggregates and syndicates Web video. Online video creators can pair up with Pyro.TV via its publishers program, which provides additional distribution for videos as well as the tools to track consumer viewing habits. "We aggregate Internet video and organize it into channels and provide management service for the publishers of the content and distribute it back out," Mr. Briscoe said. Pyro.TV organizes channels for its site, but also lets users customize video channels from a range of Web sources. Vibe Solutions provides rich-media tools to consumers.
The pitch: Pyro.TV is operating in a sector of the Web video business that's growing quickly-the organization of online video. As online video proliferates, it becomes harder to sift through it, heightening the need for services such as Pyro.TV. "We think TV online will be more like a channel experience than a passive experience," Mr. Briscoe said.

In the mix: Pyro.TV features Web video on its site and also syndicates content to broadband service providers for their online destinations. In its library, Pyro.TV features content from programmers including NBC, ABC, CBS, VH1, MTV and others. "For publishers, it's giving them an opportunity to get greater distribution and make money on their content, rather than just throwing it into a video-clip sharing site," Mr. Briscoe said.

The money guys: Vibe Solutions launched Pyro.TV in late March. Vibe Solutions started in 2005 and secured $4.8 million in funding from Highland Capital and ComVentures in 2006. Pyro.TV plans to make money by splitting advertising revenue from video ads with its publishing partners when it introduces the promotional spots in the fall.

The competition: Pyro.TV competes with online syndicators such as Brightcove, online video guides and video search sites such as ClipBlast.

Background: Mr. Briscoe was born and raised in Little Rock, Ark. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from Westminster College in Fulton, Mo., and landed a job at IBM after graduation. He worked at iOmega and Apple and was president and chief operating officer of Ask Jeeves. The 44-year-old has three children and lives in St. Louis.

Who knew: When Mr. Briscoe was in college, he painted Bill Clinton's garage in between his gubernatorial stints. "He would come out every morning while he had his coffee and talk. He was a talker," Mr. Briscoe said.