Online video firm Brightcove signs up Gruner+Jahr

By Kate Holton

LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - U.S. online video syndication firm Brightcove has signed a deal with Gruner+Jahr to provide advertising-supported video for the German publisher's many media brands.

The Bertelsmann [BERT.UL] division is Europe's largest publishing house and the deal gives fast-growing Brightcove its first major media customer in Germany after similar deals in Britain and the United States.

The agreement will allow media brands such as Stern and Financial Times Deutschland to expand the video content on their Web sites and distribute video across the Internet to tap into new revenue opportunities through video advertising.

Brightcove Chief Executive Jeremy Allaire told Reuters said the use of online video would allow publishers to compete for TV adverts.

"Germany has a very robust advertising market and broadband penetration is growing very rapidly so it is a good opportunity," he said in an interview.

"This is a corporate-wide deal, which means they have the opportunity to role out our video platform across every property in the network."