Online video creation tool and ad network Jivox today announced that it will bring a series of new publishers into the network. These include Examiner.com, Acuweather.com and MediaNews Group.

This will add more locally relevant inventory to its network and increase the appeal of its overall platform for small and large businesses that want to target locally. Jivox has an edge over many other self-serve online video production platforms because it has its own distribution backbone. The quickly growing set of companies in this space otherwise rely on a combination of distribution strategies, including search engines, YouTube, distribution partners and third-party video ad networks.

Video production is one thing, but the conversation is evolving beyond who shoots it to questions of where the video “lives.” As we’ve examined a number of times, the companies in this space that are targeting small businesses will be made or broken by the ability to 1. form channel partnerships to gain direct sales into the fragmented SMB market and 2. form distribution strategies to get videos out there in front of targeted local audiences.

Jivox is pushing hard on the latter and we could see it work on the former, given an extended runway from a $16 million funding round in July. We’ve also seen companies like Mixpo push hard on such deals recently (here and here). IYP relationships meanwhile have been a big goal for a lot of video production firms because, to a certain extent, they satisfy both of these factors.

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I’m scheduled to talk to the Jivox executive team on Thursday and will report back.

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