The subject I write about is new media video and a major theme I always come back to is how future business models may lead to new investments and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Zachary Rodgers wrote a good piece about online video syndication. After reading it, I was struck with this thought: what if the online video ad networks stopped aiming to be mediators (their major downside from the agency's point of view) and became large conduits that signed up publishers, coordinated content, and handled revenue splits. I see an alignment of companies that can pull that off, but I'll save it for another day.

For anyone interested in the online video ad network, I encourage you to read the whole article to get its full meaning. I heavily edited his work down to the most interesting thread to me. Here is that thread:

A new video distribution model is emerging, one based on the syndication of content between producers and individual Web sites ... [and] a number of platforms have cropped up ... Brightcove was the first ... soon be followed by ... Mochila, [and others] remain in stealth mode in the U.S. The models vary, but each [makes] money on a blend of licensing fees and revenue sharing agreements on ads inserted into the stream.

... these platforms function as video ad networks.... [but before] they can persuade media buyers to get involved, the Brightcoves and Mochilas ... must first demonstrate they can aggregate a powerful distribution network. That's no small task ...

... As a workable scenario for syndicated video ... [is] the example of a "nova" episode that appeals to [a segmented] audience. The syndication model could therefore succeed if the content is properly targeted.

... Among the emergent video syndication companies, Brightcove has by far the highest profile... Mochila launched last week with several print media partners... A dark horse is The Fifth Network, which now operates a small video ad network but says it will soon launch a media player that Web site owners can use to carry its syndicated content and ads.

The upsides and downsides of advertising with these companies are similar to those of all ad networks. In the "pros" column, you have reach. In the "cons" you have a loss of control. Several media buyers ... see the inherent logic of the syndication model for video content and advertising. However, they're also uncomfortable with having their video ad buys mediated.

"Unless it's for a specific initiative, we wouldn't necessarily [advertise there]," said Myra Lanting, an account supervisor at Beyond Interactive. "You always want to make sure you're completely aware of the content you're running in."

... But how much time and energy will advertisers need to put in to get their ideal contextual video placement, and how many video impressions will be available for purchase once all those knobs and dials are set? The alternative is to forfeit all the tweaking and tuning and instead buy a large number of impressions on a blind network.

From the standpoint of agencies pursuing deep integrations with Web content, there's no question that buying media via the new video syndication platforms is a limited proposition.