James R | On 21, Apr 2015

Grabyo has launched a VIP service to capitalise on the social reach of celebrity users.

The company works with rights holders to distribute live video clips through social media platforms. The cloud-based studio, which lets companies monetise social video with live broadcast TV or other feeds and footage, has teamed up with sporting giants such as Wimbledon’s AELTC, ITV’s World Cup and – in the US – the NHL.

Now, the site is aiming to extend its reach – and help rights holders do the same – by targeting social media stars.

“While media companies increasingly recognise the role of social platforms as distribution channels,” writes CEO Gareth Capon on the Grabyo blog, “it is the major stars and celebrities that have the largest followings and most engaged social audience. We’ve seen first hand that star talent can generate up to twenty times the engagement per fan than content shared by traditional broadcasters and rights holders.”

The new app allows verified users to public native video on Twitter and Facebook with a single click – complete with integrated sponsorship and advertising. There is no limit to the length of the clips.

It is available not to the general consumer, but to all verified users, from brands and rights holders to media publishers and celebrities.

Brilliant rally and great to see @rogerfederer in action last night – congrats to @DjokerNole on a fantastic game. http://t.co/IWNHajw1EZ

— Thierry Henry (@ThierryHenry) March 23, 2015

“Grabyo VIP lets major stars turn social media engagement into revenue, while giving media companies and content rights holders a growing talent-based network for enhanced video distribution on Facebook and Twitter. The app enables rapid discovery and sharing of premium video content that has previously been distributed across the Grabyo platform by broadcaster and rights holder partners. Grabyo’s customers can use its growing Grabyo VIP network to accelerate organic discovery, engagement and monetisation of real-time video clips – all of which is tracked by Grabyo’s platform and analytics.”

The announcement follows a round of funding in the social video start-up from Premier League stars, such as Cesc Fabregas, Theirry Henry and Robin van Persie.

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