BSkyB buys stake in social TV startup Zeebox
News Corp, a pay-TV operator controlled by BSkyB, is buying a springboard for expansion in an actively growing direction of social TV . BSkyB acquires a 10% stake in the Zeebox startup for a “two-digit number of millions . " The acquisition will be paid in two currencies - US dollars and British pounds.
“This is a completely new investment,” Ernesto Schmitt, CEO, told the paidContent . - “This is a big deal. Sky believes that social TV will be the biggest chance for innovation since the launch of Sky + ( digital television receiver - translator comment ). We are launching in the USA, Europe and Australia. ”
Start-up co-founder Anthony Rose told paidContent: “The Sky deal is a serious addition to our previous $ 7 million round of financing. New investment significantly exceeds old. ”
“Under the terms of the deal, BSkyB’s advertising unit, Sky Media, will sell sponsorships and product placement based on 'Zitag' , text labels, accompanying actors, characters and themes broadcast on the screen,” the FT released the news first.
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“In addition to financing the international expansion of a London-based startup, the deal guarantees the investor’s exclusive rights to integrate Zeebox technology into its own 20 mobile applications. First of all, Zeebox will appear in the Sky + console software. ”
The BSkyB move means an increase in the value of a startup to several hundred million. And this is only two months after the start, without even embarking on the implementation of the monetization strategy.
Startup Zeebox, which was exclusively told about paidContent in August , was founded by EMI's former top manager Schmitt and former BBC's online product specialist Rose. The project was launched in October 2011 and combines several technologies that allow viewers to watch TV collectively using an iPad or iPhone application, sharing messages along the way, provides contextual information about what is being broadcast, and can also allow viewers buy items visible on the screen.
In early 2011, the project had the working title Tbone, but was renamed after receiving the first round of investments in the summer of that year in the amount of about $ 7 million. Despite a small audience, Zeebox quickly gained recognition. “In eight weeks, Zeebox gathered 250,000 users in the United Kingdom through private recommendations,” Schmitt added. There are already several players like GetGlue and Miso on the market, but Zeebox avoids their check-ins paradigm.
The company currently presents its technology at CES in Las Vegas. Zeebox’s audience expansion by integrating into Sky’s applications is debatable. Information about other major investors of the project is not.
“This is a completely new investment,” Ernesto Schmitt, CEO, told the paidContent . - “This is a big deal. Sky believes that social TV will be the biggest chance for innovation since the launch of Sky + ( digital television receiver - translator comment ). We are launching in the USA, Europe and Australia. ”
Start-up co-founder Anthony Rose told paidContent: “The Sky deal is a serious addition to our previous $ 7 million round of financing. New investment significantly exceeds old. ”
“Under the terms of the deal, BSkyB’s advertising unit, Sky Media, will sell sponsorships and product placement based on 'Zitag' , text labels, accompanying actors, characters and themes broadcast on the screen,” the FT released the news first.
')
“In addition to financing the international expansion of a London-based startup, the deal guarantees the investor’s exclusive rights to integrate Zeebox technology into its own 20 mobile applications. First of all, Zeebox will appear in the Sky + console software. ”
The BSkyB move means an increase in the value of a startup to several hundred million. And this is only two months after the start, without even embarking on the implementation of the monetization strategy.
Startup Zeebox, which was exclusively told about paidContent in August , was founded by EMI's former top manager Schmitt and former BBC's online product specialist Rose. The project was launched in October 2011 and combines several technologies that allow viewers to watch TV collectively using an iPad or iPhone application, sharing messages along the way, provides contextual information about what is being broadcast, and can also allow viewers buy items visible on the screen.
In early 2011, the project had the working title Tbone, but was renamed after receiving the first round of investments in the summer of that year in the amount of about $ 7 million. Despite a small audience, Zeebox quickly gained recognition. “In eight weeks, Zeebox gathered 250,000 users in the United Kingdom through private recommendations,” Schmitt added. There are already several players like GetGlue and Miso on the market, but Zeebox avoids their check-ins paradigm.
The company currently presents its technology at CES in Las Vegas. Zeebox’s audience expansion by integrating into Sky’s applications is debatable. Information about other major investors of the project is not.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/287228/
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