Miniweb Secures Availability of $32M of Funding to Drive New Converged Interactive TV Experience

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Miniweb, the Interactive Service Provider that is enabling targeted, web-style advertising and interactivity on TV, today announced a significant funding round, securing access to US$32 million of venture capital investment. The funding is lead by Meritage Funds in Denver, Colorado and DeGeorge Holdings III, Nevada. The capital raised will enable Miniweb to finance its international growth and drive new momentum in the interactive TV market.

Miniweb addresses industry and consumer demands for converged broadcast and broadband entertainment that offers personalised, web-style interactivity for TV viewers. The Miniweb platform provides significant opportunities to exploit the global growth in broadband enabled TV services. It delivers a richer viewing experience by providing personalised and relevant entertainment which enables new revenue streams for network operators, broadcasters, content owners and advertisers.

Andrew Carver, CEO of Miniweb said: “Miniweb answers a clear global need for interactive services using open technology that can work on existing TV devices with a remote control. The standards based platform and browser are TV device and middleware agnostic, making them easy and more cost effective to deploy than proprietary solutions across cable, satellite, terrestrial or IPTV broadband networks. We have a unique and powerful service offering with an exciting, wide ranging vision to deliver a converged broadband and broadcast entertainment experience and are already providing interactive TV capability to over 9 million homes.

”We are delighted with this round of funding and pleased that experienced and successful investors such as Meritage Funds and DeGeorge Holdings share our vision and recognise our market potential. This funding will enable us to invest in the additional resources we need to deliver our interactive broadcast and broadband TV vision to our customers and partners worldwide.”

Commenting on the deal, James C Allen Chairman of the Miniweb board and Operating Partner at Meritage Funds said: “We are deeply impressed by the people, the technology and the thinking at Miniweb. We have reviewed a number of interactive TV and advertising propositions and believe that Miniweb’s offering stands out not only by delivering its innovative, standards-based technology that offers advantages to every member of the broadcast and broadband value chain but also by being globally deployable and scalable on virtually any TV distribution network or TV device. We invested in Miniweb because the company has the right technology and solutions to make interactivity on the TV a huge success, no matter how the consumer receives their broadband service. ”

With Miniweb, TV viewers benefit from a more engaging and empowering TV experience with access to personalised and relevant broadcast and broadband entertainment. Broadcasters can now make their channels more compelling by empowering viewers to interact with programmes, and also leverage existing sponsorship and advertising through interactivity. TV network operators can increases ARPU and gain revenue share from broadcaster and advertiser interactive services. Advertisers can benefit from new web-style, advertising opportunities on the TV. Moreover, content owners can gain a new distribution channel to TV devices winning additional income from delivery of their current and ‘long tail’ content.

About Meritage Funds

Meritage Funds is a Denver-based family of communications-oriented venture capital funds founded in 1998. The firm has more than $500 million of committed capital under management and invests in early-stage companies with high-growth potential and complex transactions such as recapitalizations, consolidations and restructurings. Meritage targets companies in three segments of the communications industry: Network Enablers, Network Infrastructure and Information Services. Using a team approach, Meritage provides both equity and hands-on expertise to create value for its portfolio companies and investors. For more information, visit www.meritagefunds.com.

About DeGeorge Holdings

DeGeorge Holdings III LP is a private Nevada partnership which invests to build leading companies. We partner with management in early stage telecommunications, media and internet service startups and in later stage companies with strong recurring revenue, operating leverage, and free cash flow.

About Miniweb Interactive

Miniweb, the Interactive Service Provider with headquarters in the UK, delivers a converged broadcast and broadband entertainment experience that provides personalised web-style interactivity for TV viewers. It allows broadcasters, network operators, content owners and advertisers to easily and cost effectively deliver new services and business models and to monetise viewer see, search and spend actions. Miniweb’s open standards based platform enables the creation and delivery of interactive entertainment across multiple TV distribution networks and is already deployed in over 9 million homes. For more information please visit: www.miniweb.tv