Lonely Planet Selects Service to Enhance Growing Internet Channel

Travel media company Lonely Planet, publisher of the Lonely Planet travel guidebooks, announced a partnership this week with Tempe, Ariz.-based Limelight Networks, a content delivery network (CDN) for digital media. Limelight will drive Lonely Planet’s new LonelyPlanet.tv travel video channel, which offers original travel programming via the Internet.

“Choosing Limelight’s content delivery network has proven to be a smart business decision for our roll-out of LonelyPlanet.tv,” said Sohail Dahdal, digital manager, LonelyPlanet.tv. “We looked at all the different streaming services and found that Limelight was best-equipped to accommodate our future growth. Limelight’s infrastructure allows sites such as ours to rapidly grow and develop as user needs evolve.”

Since the Web site went live in April, it has grown from about 75 videos to more than 1,600 videos. These video offerings, which are created by users of the site as well as original documentaries produced by Lonely Planet Television, are approximately three to five minutes in length and may be uploaded from a computer, cell phone or Web cam.

The Web site attracts approximately 160,000 visitors a month, a number that is growing, according to Lonely Planet. Limelight’s service was selected to maintain performance levels as traffic, file size and content collections increase.

“Our community is very dedicated and interactive,” says Dahdal. “There are a lot of great forums happening on our Web site.”