Liberty Media, EchoStar Invest in slingbox
From red heering
Sling Gets $46.6M in Funding
The money will help the maker of a set-top box that enables remote access to TV and other content develop new products.
January 30, 2006
Sling Media, which makes a set-top box that allows users to access their television programs, music, and pictures from their laptops and other mobile devices, said Monday it has secured $46.6 million in a second round of financing.
The funding round was led by Goldman Sachs, and joined by Liberty Media and satellite broadcast provider EchoStar. The company’s first investors, Hearst Corp., Doll Capital Management, and Mobius Venture Capital, which originally invested $11.5 million, also joined the round, as did a handful of undisclosed investors.
San Mateo, California-based Sling is one of the companies that gave rise to the term “placeshifting,” which involves redirecting a TV signal to other devices virtually anywhere using a high-speed Internet connection.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Blake Krikorian, 38, said the funds will help the company roll out a number of new products, as well as give the company an acquisition war chest, should the need for one arise
What this means for us is that we can expand sales to other parts of the world,” Mr. Krikorian said. “But we also want to expand our product portfolio, and provide a family of different products.”
Sling’s primary product is the Slingbox, a set-top box that looks something like an oversized chocolate bar. The device lets users connect their television sets to Sling’s bank of Internet routers, and from there, to any playback device, whether the user is at home or on the road. It retails for about $249.
Mr. Krikorian said the company has sold a six-figure number of the devices so far, and that most customers are using them to wire up their living rooms or watch television at work. The company has built a distribution network of some 3,000 retail outlets. Mr. Krikorian said that after a good holiday season, retailers are asking if Sling has any other products waiting in the wings.
Earlier this month, the company rolled out a Macintosh version of its product, and announced it could deliver television content to Windows mobile Smartphones and handheld computers (see Slingbox Plots a Revolution).
“The irony of what we're doing, in a lot of ways, is starting where the cable guys left off, by laying a virtual cable from the set-top box to the consumer, to wherever they are,” he said.
Will TV Firms Play Ball?
The ultimate success of Sling will depend on the cooperation of television and cable broadcasters who fear, among other things, alienating their affiliates, and losing advertising revenue.
Mr. Krikorian said so far, broadcasters and cable companies are starting to get it. Investor Liberty Media, a major distributor of TV entertainment, sports, and other programming including
the Discovery Channel, USA, QVC, Encore, and STARZ, will go a long way toward helping the startup make its case to other media giants, he said.
“Consumers already have tons of TV content,” he said. “If they watch on their laptops at home, or at work, we’ve just added another 10 hours that broadcasters could never deliver to their customers. And those hours are gravy. You need to figure out how to monetize that and get Nielsen credit. But I think they’re starting to get it, and I think they’re coming around. They’ve seen how well the product is doing, and that it’s not going away.”
He also dismisses legal concerns that users could be violating copyright laws by taking television content, and watching it at times and in formats the broadcasters likely never intended.
“I think legally it’s clear that it’s not even a copy we’re making, and we’re certainly not violating copyright law,” Mr. Krikorian said. “I think if people are asked if you should be able to watch TV you’re paying for, wherever you happen to be, the answer is a resounding ‘yes,’” he said. “But I don’t think anyone thinks they can sue it out of existence.”
From red heering
Sling Gets $46.6M in Funding
The money will help the maker of a set-top box that enables remote access to TV and other content develop new products.
January 30, 2006
Sling Media, which makes a set-top box that allows users to access their television programs, music, and pictures from their laptops and other mobile devices, said Monday it has secured $46.6 million in a second round of financing.
The funding round was led by Goldman Sachs, and joined by Liberty Media and satellite broadcast provider EchoStar. The company’s first investors, Hearst Corp., Doll Capital Management, and Mobius Venture Capital, which originally invested $11.5 million, also joined the round, as did a handful of undisclosed investors.
San Mateo, California-based Sling is one of the companies that gave rise to the term “placeshifting,” which involves redirecting a TV signal to other devices virtually anywhere using a high-speed Internet connection.
The company’s CEO and co-founder, Blake Krikorian, 38, said the funds will help the company roll out a number of new products, as well as give the company an acquisition war chest, should the need for one arise
What this means for us is that we can expand sales to other parts of the world,” Mr. Krikorian said. “But we also want to expand our product portfolio, and provide a family of different products.”
Sling’s primary product is the Slingbox, a set-top box that looks something like an oversized chocolate bar. The device lets users connect their television sets to Sling’s bank of Internet routers, and from there, to any playback device, whether the user is at home or on the road. It retails for about $249.
Mr. Krikorian said the company has sold a six-figure number of the devices so far, and that most customers are using them to wire up their living rooms or watch television at work. The company has built a distribution network of some 3,000 retail outlets. Mr. Krikorian said that after a good holiday season, retailers are asking if Sling has any other products waiting in the wings.
Earlier this month, the company rolled out a Macintosh version of its product, and announced it could deliver television content to Windows mobile Smartphones and handheld computers (see Slingbox Plots a Revolution).
“The irony of what we're doing, in a lot of ways, is starting where the cable guys left off, by laying a virtual cable from the set-top box to the consumer, to wherever they are,” he said.
Will TV Firms Play Ball?
The ultimate success of Sling will depend on the cooperation of television and cable broadcasters who fear, among other things, alienating their affiliates, and losing advertising revenue.
Mr. Krikorian said so far, broadcasters and cable companies are starting to get it. Investor Liberty Media, a major distributor of TV entertainment, sports, and other programming including
the Discovery Channel, USA, QVC, Encore, and STARZ, will go a long way toward helping the startup make its case to other media giants, he said.
“Consumers already have tons of TV content,” he said. “If they watch on their laptops at home, or at work, we’ve just added another 10 hours that broadcasters could never deliver to their customers. And those hours are gravy. You need to figure out how to monetize that and get Nielsen credit. But I think they’re starting to get it, and I think they’re coming around. They’ve seen how well the product is doing, and that it’s not going away.”
He also dismisses legal concerns that users could be violating copyright laws by taking television content, and watching it at times and in formats the broadcasters likely never intended.
“I think legally it’s clear that it’s not even a copy we’re making, and we’re certainly not violating copyright law,” Mr. Krikorian said. “I think if people are asked if you should be able to watch TV you’re paying for, wherever you happen to be, the answer is a resounding ‘yes,’” he said. “But I don’t think anyone thinks they can sue it out of existence.”
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