iStreamPlanet Secures Series A Investment Led by Intel Capital
Top digital media video workflow services and applications company to drive growth and leadership position with capital investment
Las Vegas, NV(23 May 2011)
iStreamPlanet, a leader in live internet broadcast services and automated video workflow solutions and applications, announced today that Intel Capital is leading a planned $11 million Series A financing round by funding $7 Million in a first closing. The funding will be used to further accelerate product development, expand the company’s U.S. operations, and for continued growth into European markets.
iStreamPlanet develops and operates live and on-demand content creation, management, security, monetization and delivery products and services that bring media experiences to life across multiple screens. The new financing comes after a successful 2010 during which iStreamPlanet more than doubled its customer base and further drove innovation in the live web broadcast space. And for the second straight year, iStreamPlanet worked with NBC Sports to manage the complete season of Sunday Night Football and the Championships at Wimbledon, along with the US Open Golf, Notre Dame College Football, Ryder Cup and most recently the Kentucky Derby. iStreamPlanet also managed the live web broadcast of a first-of-its-kind 1080p live web broadcast of Imogen Heap out of London and the world’s first live 3D stereoscopic web broadcast, 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 race from Daytona.
“We had the opportunity to witness Intel’s commitment to high performance video technologies and their cloud vision first-hand during our companies’ successful collaboration on the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games Internet Broadcast,” said Mio Babic, CEO of iStreamPlanet. “Intel Capital’s investment in iStreamPlanet further reinforces their commitment to the IP video space and our shared vision to enable content owners and distributors worldwide to seamlessly distribute and monetize on their media assets across multiple platforms and connected IP devices.”
“Online video is a significant driver of Internet traffic, with online TV advertising expected to account for a significantly growing share of total TV advertising revenue over the coming years,” said Lisa Lambert, vice president, Intel Capital. “iStreamPlanet is well-positioned to revolutionize live broadcast video on the internet by driving exceptional viewer experiences and client aware media platforms along the entire compute continuum - from servers to PC, SmartTV, tablet, and smartphone clients.”
iStreamPlanet will look to expand its US operations through hiring and investment in accelerating their product development as well as moving into the cloud to offer dynamic scaling, high reliability and elasticity based on customer demand. Additionally, iStreamPlanet is committed to expansion in Europe and having recently built out a Web Broadcast Operations Center in London. To lead efforts for this expansion, Khurram Siddiqui has been hired as Vice President and GM of Europe. Siddiqui was formerly Senior Director Broadcast Operations at Major League Baseball Advanced Media where he led a team of 130 personnel in IT, Broadcast Engineering, Studio Operations and MLB Instant Replay. Most recently he served as Vice President of Product Development for Comcast Sports Group helping Comcast define their strategy and develop innovative products to serve their viewers with breaking sports news and video.
About iStreamPlanet
iStreamPlanet® develops and operates content creation, management, security, monetization and delivery products and services that bring media experiences to life across multiple screens by enabling content owners to create content once and deliver anywhere. This includes Over-the-Top (OTT) and TV Everywhere (TV-E) HD video delivery (live and on demand), content protection, management, monetization, rich media experiences, collaboration and analytics. Thanks to these products and services, iStreamPlanet’s customers are bringing to life and monetizing new content capabilities and services in different segments (enterprise, broadcast, film, telecom, mobile, retail), across a multitude of screens and devices (TV, PC, mobile, gaming consoles and more). The world’s top business leaders (American Express, AT&T, Caterpillar, Microsoft), trendiest music festivals (Bonnaroo, Coachella, SXSW), most popular sporting events (Masters Golf Tournament, Championships at Wimbledon, Sunday Night Football, 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, NASCAR, PGA, the Kentucky Derby) and major broadcasters (CBS Television, Comcast, NBC, Turner and CTV) rely on iStreamPlanet’s digital media solutions. Founded in 2000, the privately held company is headquartered in Las Vegas with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona. More information is available by calling +1-702-492-5900 or visiting http://www.istreamplanet.com.