Veoh is a San Diego, California-based company which runs an Internet Television service allowing users to find and watch major studio content, independent productions and user-generated material.

The company received media attention after Michael Eisner (ex-Disney chairman) joined the board. In April 2006, he was one of the investors (along with Time Warner) in the US$12.5 million second round of financing for Veoh and re-affirmed his status in August 2007 as an investor in the company's US$25 million Series C financing round.

In a controversial move, Veoh made its service unavailable to several markets (Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Central and Eastern Europe) in May 2008.

History

Veoh was founded by Dmitry Shapiro. The company launched an early version of its distribution technology in September 2005 and debuted its full beta service in March 2006. Veoh officially launched (out of beta) in February 2007. Veoh has raised about US$70 million from venture capital and media investors. Time Warner, Michael Eisner's Tornante Company, Spark Capital, Shelter Capital Partners, Tom Freston's Firefly3 LLC, Jonathan Dolgen (former chairman of Viacom Entertainment Group), Intel, and Goldman Sachs are all major investors.

In addition to the user generated content that Veoh broadcasts, Veoh has distributed content from major media companies including CBS, ABC, The WB, Viacom's MTV Networks, ESPN, FEARNet, Billboard, Ford Models, US Weekly, TV Guide, and others. Independent creators found on Veoh include NextNewNetworks, 60 Frames, Can We Do That?, Goodnight Burbank, and Dave and Tom.

In 2008, the domain veoh.com attracted approximately 17 million unique visitors monthly according to a Quantcast.com study. According to the company's internal metrics, Veoh has more than 28 million unique users per month.Fact: date=April 2009

In January 2009, Veoh announced a new site including support for iPhone/iTouch and the Veoh Video Compass. Upon introduction, some controversy arose over the lack of friends lists, mail services, as well as some video infoFact: date=January 2009.

In April 2009, following layoffs in November 2008, Veoh reduced its staff by 25 more to 45 remaining employees and reinstated Dmitry Shapiro as its CEO, replacing Steve Mitgang.

Viewing options

Veoh offers two viewing options. The Veoh.com site, which is currently used by approximately 19 million viewers per month, allows viewers to watch streaming web video from across the Web including via their iPhone or iPod touch. Although somewhat like YouTube, Veoh.com offers a broader selection of network television content and allows viewers to watch full episodes of TV shows and full-length movies. It is however plagued with technical difficulties, unlike YouTube it often freezes and restarts videosFact: date=April 2009. Veoh.com hosts a range of programming, from user generated content to studio content. Veoh also provided a software application, VeohTV Beta, that enabled "lean back" and remote controllable viewing of web content. In December 2008 Veoh transitioned from VeohTV to the Veoh Web Player. The Veoh Web Player enables users to watch full-length videos on Veoh.com within their browser. It also enables users to download video from Veoh.com and other websites.