Wonder PL has announced the launch of a video platform that supports professional content creators and offers advertising - free content across the web, iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Developed by Sofia Fenichell of Rockpack, the Wonder PL video platform is taking direct aim at YouTube and Vimeo while hoping to capitalize on the soaring popularity of online video. The platform has the financial support of names including Universal Music Group, Pascal Cagni (formerly General Manager, Vice President, Apple Europe, Middle East & Africa EMEA), Qualcomm Ventures and AndrewCreighton (President & Co-Founder of VICE Media).

"As video consumption online and mobile continues to grow at unprecedented rates, we saw an addressable market in quality lifestyle video content that was being overlooked by traditional players," said Sofia Fenichell, Founder and CEO of Wonder PL. "Wonder PL was created to deliver a profession al video platform for content creators that makes good business sense, while ensuring an enjoyable experience for consumers. We didn?t think the two had to be mutually exclusive and we are finding out that we were right."

Wonder is differentiating itself from YouTube by targeting professional content makers to use its platform for an annual fee. Wonder PL?s interface is free of advertising and includes discovery and monetization tools that connect content creators directly with relevant audiences. The professional video offering includes hosting and HD streaming capabilities through deep integration with Ooyala and a customizable embeddable player and channel pages on an iOS mobile platform. Creators are able to target viewers more effectively through data-driven programming. Music is coming from Epidemic Sound, and ' Click - to - purchas', and 'click - to - learn - more' options aare available to drive traffic to content provider sites.

"The industry currently trades a free or nominal membership fee in exchange for taking very high platform commissions ranging from 10% to 50%," said Fenichell. "We believe this is an unsustainable model for creators who need to generate value from their work, and we are disrupting the traditional landscape by taking a different approach."

Wonder PL allows creators to monetize content while keeping one hundred percent of the profits.

The crowded online video market is dominated by Google's ad-supported YouTube, which has more than 1 billion unique users per month who watch more than 6 billion hours of video.

Vimeo provides a platform for professional users too. Anyone can post video to the Vimeo platform for free but it charges up to $199 for more comprehensive features like additional storage, support and the ability to sell video on demand.