Minute’s video optimization platform can detect the most interesting moment in a video and edit that into a clip. The machine-learning technology firm has secured clients from major media companies, who have seen the short video previews drive an increase of engagement, as measured by click-through-rates, of 300 percent.
Now, Minute is adding a new tool: the ability to generate compelling teasers in real-time. The company’s CEO and co-founder, Amit Golan, said a beta version of the livestream product used by three broadcasters during the recent World Cup increased the number of new users by 13 percent. While that figure seems modest, it represents a 13-percent increase on hundreds of millions of existing broadcast viewers.
Minute’s core technology leverages computer vision, audio analysis (of both commentators and crowd noise), and natural language processing of social media chatter. This enables Minute.ly to compile vast quantities of metadata that helps it recognize the best five-second segment from a highlight.
“We can understand immediately what is the best content, we know what is the content, and we’re indexing everything,” Golan said, before adding: “We dynamically replace the presentation of those pages and livestreams across the web so they can use it wherever they want.”
The founders of the Tel Aviv-based company initially designed a customer-facing product that would curate personalized highlight reels based on fan preferences. (When they wanted to keep something short, they’d say, “Let’s do a minute of it”—hence, the company name.) But most viewers watched no more than a third of each clip.
Everything we do is at the intersection between psychology, technology, and content
Minute’s breakthrough came when its developers delved into the analysis of videos, automating the creation of short clips. A couple of large publishers approached the company about using its technology to drive engagement. Golan said his executive team initially balked at the B2B application. Two months later, with a growing need to produce revenue after a round of investment, the team reconsidered. “Then the sand clock is twisted,” Golan said, “and the time goes down.”
Minute’s first proposal required four technical integrations with the client’s site, and Golan said Minute was practically kicked out of that meeting. The tipping point, he said, came when Golan’s company configured a plug-and-play option with no required embedding. That is the prime example of what Golan describes as the company ethos to listen to client needs, saying he has become “best friends” with each media publishers’ VP of product. (Minute cannot identify its clients due to terms of the agreements.)
While many of the auto-preview videos might be the expected game action—goals, dunks, or touchdowns—Golan said the No. 1 driver of fan interest has nothing do with scoring. Fights, he said, rank first in triggering engagement. Another attraction: Fans “doing something very funny or weird,” he added, especially when the broadcasters discuss that act on air.
“Everything we do—and I think this is very interesting about our technology—is at the intersection between psychology, technology, and content,” Golan said. “We understand, in real time, what the world thinks about this piece of content.”