GE Commercial Finance - Global Media & Communications announced that its Technology team has provided growth capital financing to Brightcove, an Internet TV pioneer. GE was the lead lender of the $5 million facility, which closed September 1.

Based in Cambridge, Mass., Brightcove enables video content owners--from independent producers to major broadcast networks--to reach their audiences directly through the Internet, while giving viewers more choices and control over their use of video and television. The growth capital financing from GE will enable Brightcove to accelerate the development of solutions for content owners to distribute and monetize broadband video content.

According to industry experts, the worldwide broadband video market saw explosive growth in 2005 and it will continue to grow rapidly through the end of the decade to over $16 billion. This growth is driven by the increase in consumer broadband video usage and also by content owners' demand for alternative outlets to cable, broadcast and DVD, as these existing channels mature.

"As Internet TV continues to gain mainstream popularity, content owners need state-of-the-art broadband media distribution services to seamlessly create high-quality broadband channels and revenue streams," said Scot Rosenblum, CFO, Brightcove. "GE has demonstrated numerous times its knowledge and expertise in the new media sector, as well as its commitment to enabling innovative companies to grow by providing flexible financial services in a timely manner."

"We are excited that we could help Brightcove continue their growth. Our deep understanding of the digital media space is a result of our ongoing work with a variety of new media entities," said Paul Lee, vice president, GE - Global Media & Communications. "Our relationship with NBC Universal also gives our customers a unique advantage, as for example in this deal, where we were able to leverage insights from BravoTV, an NBC Universal network that is also a Brightcove customer."