Vimeo is looking to partner with digital publishers to extend the reach of its VOD audience.

To kick off the VOD Publisher Network, the channel partnered with TheAtlantic.com, CBS Interactive Media Group (which includes TVGuide.com, TV.com and Metacritic) and TEN: The Enthusiast Network.

Launched a little over a year ago, Vimeo’s VOD system works with content creators on a 90/10 revenue split to create content that viewers can either rent or buy outright. Until now, videos were available directly for purchase through the Vimeo player, which is an easily embedded system onto other websites.

However, to help grow the brand’s audience and target more niche communities, Vimeo saw an opportunity to proactively reach out to publishers, says Richard Bloom, VP revenue and operations at Vimeo.

The service now has more than 50,000 titles, with revenue doubling between Q2 and Q3 of 2014.

Vimeo will pay the publishers through a revenue share model, though Bloom couldn’t reveal details as to how much. He says this appealed to the publishers, which have struggled to find revenue models online to replace the declining print ad-supported models.

This system – which allows readers to preview and purchase content without ever leaving the publisher’s site, and then watch the content at a later date either on the site or on Vimeo’s various properties – will help publishers by increasing time spent on site and providing a new revenue model that isn’t linked to advertising.

For Vimeo, it allows the brand to help distribute its content to more targeted audience (i.e. political shorts could be shared on The Atlantic and entertainment-related pieces could be found on TV.com), while taking away some of the burden of getting folks to visit Vimeo’s sites or app.

Bloom says this is an easily scalable program – and though the launch partners are actively involved in curating the content available on their website, future publishers can be more hands off, handing over the reins to the Vimeo team to create the selection of content appropriate for the publisher’s audience. Though Bloom says there is no set number on how many publishers it hopes to partner with, he says this could easily reach “1,000s” of publishers.

Though Bloom couldn’t share specific numbers as to how many people use the VOD service, Vimeo has more than 30 million registered users, with an average global reach of 170 million views per month.

Imaged: Vimeo staffers seen in the company’s promo video; The Atlantic homepage image courtesy of Vimeo

– From Strategy Daily