Logo

Growing Veoh Says Layoffs Not Significant

Jun 25, 2008  •  Post A Comment

Veoh Networks let go of three employees yesterday, but the company said those layoffs occur against a backdrop in which the world’s 16th-biggest video-sharing site has landed new partners and funding in recent weeks.
The layoffs were for three “junior level” employees in the company’s San Diego office who were in areas of product and production, said Gaude Paez, a company spokeswoman.
Earlier this week, Veoh inked a deal with Disney to carry ABC shows and ESPN.com short-form content. Veoh also recently raised an additional $30 million in venture funding in a round led by Intel earlier this quarter.
The company has grown its headcount by 40% over last year to 110, including 35 new hires since January, Ms. Paez added.
The $30 million is earmarked for product innovation, user experience, discovery of content and advertising, she said. “This is a matter of shifting our organization around those core areas,” she said.
Veoh counts 28 million users worldwide, she said. According to Nielsen Online, Veoh delivered 44 million streams to 2.5 million unique viewers in the United States in May.

12 Comments

  1. Veoh has been letting people go for months in both San Diego and Los Angeles. New hires yes, but not a build up as pink slips offset any growth. The cracks are showing as most recently key investor Michael Eisner grilled in public Dmitri Shapiro about when he might see some of his money back. After consistant growth, the market went flat and with juggernauts like NBC Universals “Hulu” jumping up quickly, Veoh has gone into survival mode. They have absolutely no chance of dethroning You Tube and Hulu has taken away their Internet Television distinction. CEO Steve Mitgang, who has been at the helm for almost a year now shows no signs he can pull Veoh out of the death spiral. They still have yet to find the spark that makes them anything more than a super aggregator. When you think of online videos, you still think You Tube and now when you think ,”watch television shows on your computer”, you will think Hulu. With the layoffs as they say, where there is smoke there is fire, so don’t fall so easily for the PR spin they defend themselves with. Only the future can tell what will happen with Veoh, but the clock is obviously ticking for them to show they have a business model that can live up to the expectations of their investors.

  2. From Informationweek June 26, 2008
    YouTube’s Dominance Of Web Video Grows
    YouTube accounted for more than 75% of U.S. traffic to video sites, an increase of 26% from a year ago, said Hitwise.
    YouTube’s popularity increased in May, accounting for more than 75% of U.S. traffic to video sites, a Web metrics firm said Thursday.
    Among the 10 million visitors to the 63 sites tracked by Hitwise, Google-owned YouTube had more than nine times the traffic of the No. 2 MySpaceTV, which had a 9% share. The remaining top five were Google Video, 3.73%; Yahoo Video, 1.92%; and Veoh, 1.13%.
    Even more telling were the year-to-year increases in traffic. YouTube’s share rose 26% since May 2007, while the remaining top five, with the exception of Veoh, had double-digit declines. MySpaceTV suffered a 44% drop; Google Video, 52%; and Yahoo Video, 31%. Veoh increased traffic by 32%, and Google Video’s decline could be attributed to the company’s focus on YouTube.
    “YouTube is synonymous with online video,” a Hitwise spokesman said. “It just keeps growing.”
    As a reflection of brand loyalty, 82% of those who visited YouTube in May were returning visitors, with the remaining brand new. More than half of the visitors to three of the remaining top five were returning, but none came close to the level of YouTube. MySpaceTV’s percentage was 64%; Google Video, 54%; Yahoo Video, 51%; and Veoh, 48%.

  3. Good post, thanks

  4. You make blogging look like a walk in the park! I’ve been trying to blog daily but I just cant find writing material.. you’re an inspiration to me and i’m sure many others!

  5. Dreamin. I love blogging. You all express your feelings the right way, because they are your feeling, focus on your blog it is great.

  6. Kudos to you! This is a really good blog here and I love your style of writing. How did you get so good at blogging?

  7. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  8. Love the blog here. Nice colors. I am definitely staying tuned to this one. Hope to see more.

  9. Amazing freakin blog here. I almost cried while reading it!

  10. Interesting thoughts here. I appreciate you taking the time to share them with us all. It’s people like you that make my day 🙂

  11. Great wordpress blog here.. It’s hard to find quality writing like yours these days. I really appreciate people like you! take care and see you soon

  12. I would like to start my own blog one day. This was a really nice blog that you made here. Keep up the success 😛

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)