Blip.tv is lining up additional distribution partners for the episodic content it carries, a move that could turn the Web video service into a more direct competitor with distribution and measurement firm TubeMogul.

As Blip.tv expands its roster of distribution sources on the Web, it will be competing with one of its current partners, TubeMogul, which also routes videos to various sites—including Blip.tv.

Meanwhile, TubeMogul expects to bring more distribution sites onboard and to add more detailed analytics.

Both companies say they will continue to work together, but they are clearly inching into each other’s businesses. With increasingly similar product lines, Blip.tv and TubeMogul likely will jockey for customers.

Their moves suggest the chummy days of online video may be drawing to a close as the business becomes more competitive. Forrester Research said advertising in streaming video will grow to $7.2 billion in 2012, up from $471 million last year.

“We are all in business and we all have been in business for a long time,” Blip.tv CEO Mike Hudack said. “But there are lots of ways to slice this market, and there is a lot of opportunity, and there will not be one successful company to rule them all. There will be multiple companies that carve out successful niches.”

Blip.tv has made its mark as a hosting service and advertising partner for Web programs such as “Moblogic.tv” and “The Clip Show.” As part of its slate of offerings, Blip.tv also distributes shows that creators upload through its service to other Web video portals including MySpace, iTunes, Yahoo, AOL Video, Facebook and Twitter.

Mr. Hudack said Blip.tv will add syndication outlets in the coming months, though he declined to name them.

Blip.tv focuses on episodic Web content and shows, while TubeMogul casts a wider net, including networks and indie Web shops as well as one-off viral videos.

Creators who use TubeMogul upload their videos through the TubeMogul service once and then choose from a lineup of about 16 sites, among them YouTube, MySpace, Viddler and Blip, to which TubeMogul sends those videos. That service works well both for individual Web creators who use the service, such as iJustine and Rhett & Link, as well as for online video studios including Next New Networks, Tornante and For Your Imagination, to make sure their videos are distributed to as many sites as possible.

TubeMogul also provides analytics and demographics on views. Blip.tv provides metrics to its users on video views across distribution sites as well.

Mr. Hudack said the new distribution partners will help expand the audience for Blip.tv’s shows and therefore the ad revenue that it shares with creators. “If you want to reach 14-year-old kids in the United Kingdom, you have to do Bebo. If you want to reach Aunt Ginny, you need to use AOL. If you want to reach teens in the U.S., you need MySpace.”

When asked if Blip.tv is aiming to compete with TubeMogul, Mr. Hudack said, “TubeMogul and Blip are complementary. We have different requirements for working with distribution partners, and realistically TubeMogul will have a superset of Blip’s distribution options.”

But Blip.tv also brings to the table relationships with advertisers. It has sold Dewar’s, Holiday Inn Express, Unilever and other brands against its shows.

TubeMogul is ramping up its offerings. “We have five important partners on deck,” said its CEO, Brett Wilson said. “Distribution is not easy, and we will also add additional metrics.”

He added that TubeMogul will continue to upload to Blip.tv. “We are going to find ways to work with Blip and not against them. There is a subset that uses Blip for its ad serving and there is another subset that doesn’t,” he said.

Metrics may be the deciding factor in a head-to-head battle. “Whoever learns to count videos wins,” said Sarah Szalavitz, producer of popular Web series “Zaproot” and also the CEO of 7 Robot, a consulting firm on new-media distribution.

For Your Imagination currently uses TubeMogul to distribute its Web series to Blip.tv, YouTube, Viddler and other sites, said Paul Kontonis, CEO of FYI. He said he’ll consider Blip.tv’s new offerings.

“We are going to look at it if they have overlapping services and see who does it better and at what price and where the most value is coming from,” he said. “Blip has a great video player, but TubeMogul has the superior distribution and metrics.”