The Business And Technology Network

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Both Silicon Alley Insider and Mashable are reporting that Google is in talks to buy Web video provider Brightcove for $500 million to $700 million. If true,  The move would make Google’s YouTube, the top consumer Web video site, a powerful player in the commercial Web video industry as well. Brightcove CEO Jeremy Allaire says that the company is profitable and cash flow positive. Analyst estimates put Brightcove on pace to do $80 million in sales this year—which would put this deal around 6-9X revenue.

To date, Brightcove has raised approximately $91 million in venture capital. For those unfamiliar with the service, Brightcove is essentially the YouTube of business to business video, powering video streaming on large sites like AOL, The New York Times and The Washington Post. And if completed, such a deal would give Google significantly more reach in online video. (more…)

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Back when the Internet was young there were all sorts of schemes to monetize content and sell digital goods. One of the most talked about was the concept of micro-payments, where users would be charged incrementally based on how much content they consumed.

The idea never really caught on. And ever since, micro-payments have remained on the back burner for a host of reasons, including lame technology, lack of interest from big media and the difficulty convincing consumers to pay for info in a “nickel and dime” fashion.

But content has a long history of being paid for by end-users (magazines, books, etc.). And in today’s challenging ad environment, coupled with the realization that almost all media is (or will soon be) digital and interactive, publishers are again looking at micro-payments as a way to shore up diminishing bottom lines.

SILICON ALLEY INSIDER had an interesting piece yesterday on a number of media veterans who’ve come around to the conclusion that some type micro-payment solution has to be included in the mix—as well as a number of other observers who think it will never happen.

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