WASHINGTON, D.C., -- The Associated Press today announced a new local video feature to benefit affiliates of its Online Video Network (OVN) service. The latest product enhancement now enables media Web sites to upload and showcase locally-produced video and generate incremental local online advertising revenue.

Thomas Hughes, Director of Digital Media Advertising at The Knoxville News Sentinel Media Group, says the AP’s solution has helped him stay ahead of the pack when it comes to local video.  “Folks are working on home grown solutions that just don’t employ the technology, reliability and results we can count on with this product,” he said.

AP affiliates can now control a “Local” tab within their player and populate it with their own local video with an easy-to-use web-based uploading tool developed by Microsoft.  In addition, the service provides the opportunity to attract local advertisers and capitalize on the shift of ad dollars from traditional media to online.  Affiliates have seen an increase in traffic by showcasing such video content as local high school sports coverage, local events, breaking State news, and celebrity interviews. This new tool is fully compatible with Internet Explorer on Windows systems, and Firefox on both PCs and Macs.

"The local video option is a critical part of how OVN affiliates can showcase video on their Web sites," said Bill Burke, AP's Director of Online Video. "We've seen some early adopters dramatically increase stream counts by using this capability, which allows affiliates to keep all their video in one place, and which lets them sell local advertising against it." 

The Online Video Network, a turnkey solution for online video, serves more than 1,900 newspaper, television and radio sites across the U.S. Powered by MSN technology and featuring exclusive AP content produced specifically for the Web, the Online Video Network is uniquely tailored for newspaper, TV, radio and digital markets, providing high-quality, in-depth reports from the world’s largest news gathering agency.

About The AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP. www.ap.org