Dailymotion

Dailymotion is Europe's largest video hosting and sharing platform, founded in 2005 in Paris, France -- the same year that YouTube launched in the United States. For two decades, Dailymotion has provided an independent, European-owned alternative for video creators, publishers, and enterprises seeking to host, distribute, and monetize video content without relying on American technology giants. Now a subsidiary of Vivendi, one of France's largest media conglomerates, Dailymotion has evolved from a consumer video-sharing site into a sophisticated video technology platform that serves both end users and businesses with professional-grade video hosting, embedding, and monetization capabilities.

In an era where video dominates online content and European regulators are increasingly concerned about the power of US tech platforms, Dailymotion occupies a unique and strategically important position. As a French company operating under European data protection regulations and the Digital Services Act (DSA), Dailymotion provides genuine European digital sovereignty for video content. For publishers, media companies, and brands that want to host their video content on European infrastructure governed by European laws, Dailymotion offers a credible and mature alternative to YouTube and Vimeo.

Video Hosting and Player Technology

Dailymotion provides robust video hosting infrastructure capable of handling content at massive scale. The platform supports upload of high-definition video up to 4K resolution, with automatic transcoding into multiple bitrates and formats for adaptive streaming. The adaptive bitrate technology ensures smooth playback regardless of the viewer's internet connection speed, automatically adjusting quality to prevent buffering. Videos can be uploaded through the web interface, the API, or through partner integrations.

The Dailymotion video player is one of the platform's strongest assets. It is a lightweight, customizable HTML5 player that loads quickly and provides a premium viewing experience across all devices and browsers. The player supports features like subtitles and closed captions, picture-in-picture mode, playback speed controls, and quality selection. For publishers and businesses, the player can be extensively customized with brand colors, logos, and control layouts. The player also supports advertising integration with pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ad placements.

Dailymotion for Publishers and Enterprise

Dailymotion has strategically repositioned itself in recent years as a video solution primarily for publishers, media companies, and enterprise clients. The Publisher platform provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing video content at scale, including bulk upload capabilities, content management systems, video libraries with tagging and categorization, and advanced embed options. Publishers can create branded channels with custom layouts and curate content into playlists and collections.

The enterprise offering includes a white-label video player that can be fully customized to match a publisher's brand identity, with no Dailymotion branding visible to viewers. This is particularly attractive for news organizations, sports media, and corporate websites that want a professional video experience without directing audience attention to a third-party platform. Enterprise clients also get access to priority support, dedicated account management, and custom SLAs for uptime and content delivery.

Monetization and Advertising

Dailymotion offers multiple monetization options for content creators and publishers. The platform operates its own advertising marketplace, connecting publishers with advertisers through programmatic advertising technology. Revenue sharing allows creators to earn money from ads displayed alongside their content, similar to YouTube's Partner Program. Dailymotion supports various ad formats including video pre-rolls, mid-rolls, display ads, and native advertising placements.

For publishers who prefer to use their own advertising technology, Dailymotion's player supports integration with third-party ad servers and demand-side platforms (DSPs) through VAST and VPAID protocols. This flexibility allows media companies to maintain their existing advertising relationships and technology stacks while using Dailymotion for video hosting and delivery. The combination of Dailymotion's own ad marketplace with third-party integration options gives publishers maximum flexibility in monetizing their video content.

Video API and Developer Tools

Dailymotion provides a comprehensive REST API that allows developers to integrate video functionality into their own applications and websites. The API supports video upload, management, search, and playback operations, enabling businesses to build custom video experiences on top of Dailymotion's infrastructure. The Player API allows developers to programmatically control playback, track viewing events, and build interactive video experiences.

The developer documentation is thorough, with code examples in multiple programming languages and SDKs for common platforms. The API supports OAuth 2.0 authentication and provides webhooks for real-time event notifications, such as when a video finishes processing or reaches a certain view count. For businesses building video-centric applications, Dailymotion's API provides a cost-effective alternative to building and maintaining custom video infrastructure.

Live Streaming

Dailymotion supports live video streaming through its platform, allowing creators and publishers to broadcast events, news coverage, sports, and other real-time content. The live streaming feature supports multiple bitrates for adaptive streaming, real-time viewer analytics, and DVR functionality that allows viewers to rewind and replay live content. After the broadcast ends, live streams are automatically saved as video-on-demand content that can continue to generate views and revenue.

The live streaming infrastructure is designed to handle high-concurrency events, with the ability to scale to support large audiences. Publishers can embed live streams directly on their websites using the same customizable player used for on-demand content, providing a consistent viewing experience across all types of video content.

Analytics and Performance Insights

Dailymotion provides detailed analytics for content creators and publishers to understand their audience and optimize their video strategy. The analytics dashboard shows views, watch time, audience demographics, traffic sources, and engagement metrics for individual videos and across the entire channel. Real-time analytics allow publishers to monitor the performance of newly published content and live streams as they happen.

For enterprise clients, Dailymotion offers advanced analytics with additional metrics including player performance data, buffering rates, start-up times, and quality-of-experience metrics. These technical analytics help publishers ensure that their video delivery is optimized and identify any issues affecting the viewing experience. The analytics data can be exported or accessed via API for integration with business intelligence tools and custom reporting dashboards.

Content Moderation and Safety

As a platform subject to European content regulations, Dailymotion has invested significantly in content moderation. The platform uses a combination of automated detection systems and human review to identify and remove content that violates its community guidelines or applicable laws. Dailymotion complies with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which imposes strict obligations on video-sharing platforms regarding illegal content, transparency reporting, and user protections.

For publishers using Dailymotion as a hosting solution, the platform's content moderation infrastructure provides an additional layer of brand safety. Publishers can control which content appears alongside their videos and can opt out of user-generated content recommendations. This brand-safe environment is particularly important for news organizations, educational institutions, and corporate brands that need to maintain strict editorial standards.

GDPR Compliance and European Data Protection

As a French company, Dailymotion is natively GDPR compliant. The platform provides comprehensive privacy controls, including consent management for cookies and tracking, data access and deletion rights for users, and transparent data processing disclosures. Dailymotion's privacy practices are overseen by the CNIL (Commission Nationale de l'Informatique et des Libertes), France's data protection authority, which is known for its rigorous enforcement of privacy regulations.

For businesses embedding Dailymotion's player on their websites, the platform offers privacy-friendly embedding options that minimize data collection until the user actively consents. This is an important consideration for European websites that need to comply with the ePrivacy Directive's cookie consent requirements. Dailymotion also provides data processing agreements for business customers, documenting the specific data processing activities and security measures in place.

Pricing and Access

Dailymotion offers free accounts for individual content creators, with video upload limits and basic monetization through the revenue sharing program. The Publisher and Enterprise plans provide enhanced features including higher upload limits, priority encoding, custom player branding, advanced analytics, and dedicated support. Enterprise pricing is customized based on the publisher's specific needs, including hosting volume, bandwidth requirements, and feature requirements. For large media organizations and publishers, Dailymotion often provides competitive pricing compared to premium video hosting alternatives like Brightcove or JW Player.

Who Should Use Dailymotion

Dailymotion is best suited for European publishers, media companies, and brands that need a professional video hosting and monetization platform with European data sovereignty. News organizations looking for a YouTube alternative that respects European regulations will find Dailymotion particularly attractive. Enterprise clients who need a white-label video player with advertising support and comprehensive analytics should evaluate Dailymotion's publisher platform. Individual creators looking for an alternative to YouTube can also benefit from Dailymotion's platform, though they should be aware that the audience reach is smaller than YouTube's global dominance.