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Veoh (/ˈviːoʊ/) is an American video-sharing website, launched in September 2005. It was originally launched as a virtual television network application, and then became a video-sharing website in March 2006. During the mid-2000s, it was one of the largest video-sharing websites, though eventually began to be superseded by YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion. In February 2010, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, until it was saved two months later by the technology company Qlipso Inc. It was later sold to blogging host FC2, Inc, who still own it as of October 2021.
 | |
| Owner | FC2, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Created by | Dmitry Shapiro and Ted Dunning |
| Parent | Veoh Networks, Inc. |
| URL | http://veoh.com |
| Registration | Free |
| Launched | September 2005 |
Veoh was founded by web-developer Dmitry Shapiro, who had the idea of creating a video-sharing website in 2004 during his honeymoon, wanting to create a platform for anyone to be able to record and share video online.[1] It raised around $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 were all major investors.
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.[2]
In addition to the user-generated content that Veoh broadcasts, Veoh has distributed content from major media companies via its VeohTV Beta[3] including CBS, ABC, The WB, Viacom's MTV Networks, ESPN, FEARNet, Billboard, Ford Models, Us Weekly, TV Guide, and others. Independent creators who produced Veoh include NextNewNetworks, 60 Frames, Can We Do That?, Goodnight Burbank, and Dave and Tom.[4][5] [6]
The company received media attention[7] after Michael Eisner, a former Disney chairman, joined the board. In April 2006, he was one of the investors (along with Time Warner) in the $12.5 million second round of financing for Veoh and re-affirmed his status in August 2007 as an investor in the company's $25 million Series C financing round.
In 2008, the website veoh.com attracted approximately 17 million unique visitors monthly according to a Quantcast.com study.[8]
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.[9]
In February 2010, Shapiro, indicated on his blog that "the distraction of the legal battles, and the challenges of the broader macro-economic climate have led to our Chapter 7 bankruptcy."[10] On April 7, 2010, it was announced that Israeli blogging host Qlipso had acquired Veoh out of bankruptcy for an undisclosed sum, who aimed to use the acquisition to add users and revenue to its blogging and content sharing service.[11][12]
As of September 2021, its website remains active, though its social pages remain fairly inactive. Its privacy policy has not been updated since 2008, its terms of service have not been updated since 2009. The site contains pornographic advertising on nearly every page.[13]