130 percent SaaS revenue growth, 7,500 new paying customers and over 1 billion unique viewers of videos on JW Player-powered sites expand global footprint and fuel momentum.
NEW YORK – Feb. 11, 2015 – JW Player, a leading digital and mobile video platform and player company, today announced that over 1 billion unique monthly viewers watched video on the JW Player during December, marking the first time the company has surpassed the billion viewer milestone in a single month. This achievement caps off a strong 2014 during which the company’s revenue and customer base grew exponentially and solidifies JW Player’s leadership position in driving the next phase of innovation in digital video.
“To have over one billion people watch video on JW Player’s products each month is truly humbling,” said Dave Otten, CEO and co-founder of JW Player. “During 2014, our team performed incredibly well across all disciplines – from world-class sales execution to delivering innovative, market-leading products to our customers. We are very proud of our achievements during the past twelve months. Importantly, we have laid the groundwork for what we believe will be another landmark year for JW Player in 2015 as we focus on building products that leverage our unique insights across our global footprint so that our customers can more effectively manage and grow their digital video businesses. We are extremely excited about the future.”
In addition to reaching 1 billion monthly unique viewers in December, JW Player’s global footprint experienced strong growth across several dimensions, making it one of the largest video networks in the world. Key 2014 video consumption metrics on the JW Player include the following:
- Total video plays (on JW Player): 94 billion, 570 percent growth vs. 2013
- Total video hours watched (on JW Player): 4 billion, 640 percent growth vs. 2013
- Total monthly ad impressions (Dec ’14 vs. Dec ’13): 4.25 billion, 430 percent growth vs. 2013
- Total monthly uniques (Dec ’14 vs. Dec ’13): 1 billion, 130 percent growth vs. Dec 2013
“We have amassed an impressive global footprint, with over half of people in the United States and one-third of those in Europe watching video delivered by the JW Player on a monthly basis,” said Otten.
The company’s September 2014 funding round of $20 million, led by Greycroft Partners, served to accelerate JW Player’s sales and marketing strategies, extend its global footprint and further develop its devices strategy. The funding, coupled with 7,500 new paying customers including The Christian Post, Womensforum.com, and Media Group of America provided the platform for JW Player to expand on both its geographical and technological footprint.
“JW Player is a key strategic partner for us as we look to deliver video content based on audience viewing habits. We are excited to leverage JW Player’s growing capabilities to expand our user base,” said Mark Kaufman, CEO of Womensforum.com, one of the companies that selected JW Player during 2014.
“As video shifts from an experimental technology to a strategic necessity, publishers of all sizes are optimizing ways to drive awareness, increase audience engagement and revenue by more effectively and efficiently monetizing their content,” said Chris Mahl, President, JW Player. “Unlike large online players that emphasize building their own brands and revenue streams by leveraging their publishing partners’ content, JW Player is leading the publisher first and only model, enabling control over the look, feel, experience and monetization strategies of their own content.”
Other key milestones reached in 2014 for JW Player include:
- 130 percent growth in SAAS revenue and more than 50 percent growth in customer subscriptions from 2013 to 2014. New customers include the likes of The Christian Post, Womensforum.com, and Media Group of America
- In September 2014, JW Player completed a $20 million Series C financing round led by Greycroft Growth and Greenspring Associates
- In response to customers’ demands for integrated native mobile video capabilities, JW Player launched its Android SDK, with an iOS SDK launching in the Spring of 2015
- The company extended support for Chromecast and VAST 3 advertising standard and improved the speed and performance of its player and platform technology across tablets, mobile devices and desktop browsers
- JW Player kicked off its first annual user conference, JW Insights, introduced JW Labs and began its JW Academy video series in May
- The company’s Customer Advisory Board is now comprised of over 50 strategic publisher members, and JW Player’s employee roster nearly tripled.
“We are excited to partner with JW Player to improve our delivery of news stories and videos to millions of Americans all across the internet,” said Alex Skatell, Co-Founder and President of Media Group of America. “Working together will help us grow our video footprint and continue our tremendous growth into 2015.”