Here's the interesting part -- as part of its filing, Brightcove, of course, had to finally reveal to the world its true financial state. And, as expected to me -- but certainly likely a surprise to many in the digerati -- Brightcove generates lower revenues than most believe and operates at significant loss. What are these numbers? On the revenue side, Brightcove is on track to finish the year likely at about $60 million (based on first half of the year numbers), and the company is on track to lose about $20 million (based on first half of the year numbers). Here's the further thing -- the company does not expect to be profitable until the end of 2012 -- yes, 2012.
Listen, I like and respect Brightcove a great deal. They absolutely are leaders in the overall video eco-system. But, those are challenging numbers with which to file for an IPO (in my humble opinion), and the times right now aren't exactly great to go public. But, let's face it, an IPO likely is the only realistic liquidity option for Brightcove investors, since it would be challenging to find a buyer to pay the high price necessary to give a meaningful return for Brightcove investors. The company, after all, has raised nearly $100 million. And, of course, it continues to burn significant cash due to its extremely aggressive land grab for global dominance.
Having said that, the overall market for OVP-type services is still in its early early innings. We too play in that space -- and are strong believers. Our difference, however, is that we are not strictly an OVP. Our OVP offering -- Sorenson 360 -- is primarily one component of many that is part of our overall enterprise-focused video workflow solutions. We believe that an OVP offering alone is a tough sell in the long-run.
