EveryZing's Video Search Picture Brightens

When NBC Universal needed a better way to help people search the rising number of videos on its Web sites, the company didn't call Google (GOOG) or Yahoo (YHOO). It tapped EveryZing .
The little-known software services company is set to announce on Monday that it will begin providing its video search services for some of NBC's U.S. Web sites.
NBC has also provided $8.25 million in funding to EveryZing, which was spun out of noted tech research and development firm BBN Technologies in 2006.
EveryZing already has similar contracts, or pending contracts, with such media stalwarts as Fox, CBS (CBS) and ABC.
The deal with NBC is another reminder of how important video is becoming to the Internet and to media companies, says Tom Wilde, EveryZing's chief executive.
"The broadcast industry wants to move their content online, but then they run into the problem about how to make it discoverable on the Internet," he said.
EveryZing solves the problem in two ways.
Tested On NBC's Petside.com
The company provides video search software for customer Web sites, such as NBC's pets Web portal Petside.com.
Consumers use the service, which uses text-to-speech software to find words that can help retrieve a specific part of a news clip or TV show.
EveryZing also uses its software to make sure customers' videos are found when consumers do Web searches on Google, Yahoo or any search engine.
"If your content can't be discovered where people are looking for it, which is on the big Web search engines, then you're missing an opportunity to leverage all of that great content that you have spent the money to produce," Wilde said.
NBC began testing EveryZing's video software in August on a few sites, including Petside.com.
Under the deal being announced, NBC expects to add the service to a few more sites, including financial news site CNBC.com, in the coming months.
The company's ability to search within a video for a certain piece of information separates it from rivals, says Jessica Schell, NBC's senior vice president of digital strategy and business development.
"EveryZing has a very powerful best-in-class video search technology," she said. "In our assessment, it's the most accurate product out there."
Goal: More Online Ad Revenue
Media companies like NBC have one primary incentive for making their videos more accessible online, says Allen Weiner, an analyst for research firm Gartner.
"It's all about ads," he said.
By 2013, online video ad revenue in the U.S. is forecast to reach $4.6 billion, up from $587 million last year, says eMarketer.