EdgeCast Provides CDN Services at "Half the Price of Akamai," CEO Tells Beet.TV

EdgeCast is another of the scrappy upcoming content delivery networks (CDN) which is vying for a piece of the market for the distribution of big video files around the globe.  The Los Angeles company has raised $10 million, with most from Disney's venture fund.

In just 9 months, the company has landed over 100 customers.  Last week in Manhattan at the Contentinople conference, I caught up with James Segil, CEO of EdgeCast. 

His company is taking on Akamai -- whom Jim refers to as a legacy operation. He likens the dominant CDN to United Airlines -- and his company to Jet Blue.  Like Jet Blue, EdgeCast has entered the market with low fares.  He told me that EdgeCast charges some 50 percent less than Akamai for comparative services.

Speaking with Jim, I learned that EdgeCast is the CDN for Blip.tv which manage Beet.TV videos -- which stream very nicely, thank you!

"Velocix Takes Drug Dealer Approach"

I love this headline from the NewTeeVee's post by Chris Albrecht on the  news that U.K.-based Velocix is giving away free CDN services in the hope of getting publshers, eh addicted.  Here's the release.

Phill Robinson, CEO of Velocix told me today that pricing of CDN services by large providers is completely out of line for small publishers:

"Major CDN providers may be charging SMEs and start-ups 10x what they charge their large brand name lighthouse customers for exactly the same product and service."

Om Malik wrote yesterday about Voxel, another start-up that is aiming to take business from Amazon's S3 business.  It's a wild marketplace, for sure.

Update: 4/30  Akamai is on a tear -- check out the earnings just posted and discussed in this call.

-- Andy Plesser