The concept of smart TVs and their potential to connect with consumers has been fueling venture capital investment in the space of late, especially in the area of app development.
The latest company to share a piece of the VC pie is interactive TV vendor Ensequence, which just announced it landed $26 million that it'll use to enable "programmers, advertisers and service providers to transform television into a more engaging consumer viewing experience on all platforms and devices."
Ohio-based Myrian Capital led the round.
"This round will help Ensequence further lead the industry in enabling programmers, advertisers and service providers to transform television into a more engaging consumer viewing experience on all platforms and devices," said Peter Low, president and CEO of Ensequence.
The Portland, Ore.-based company is no newcomer to the space, having spent the past 10 years working with programmers, advertisers and service providers to make shows and ads more engaging through branded interactive elements.
Ensequence counts among its customers NBCUniversal, MTV Networks, Showtime Networks, Turner Broadcasting, HBO, and also works with a number of service providers, including Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH).
With Showtime, for example, Ensequence enabled viewers to watch the network's sports programming and vote during boxing bouts by remote with the results displayed on-screen.
It also allowed viewers to access fighter stats and profiles, as well as live polling, a trivia game, a fight calendar and control over custom viewer settings.
The interactive experience, initially available on Verizon FiOS, appears to be ‘floating' as it hovers above the video telecast.
Ensequence helps service providers cope with widespread fragmentation, allowing them to develop, deploy and manage interactivity across different TV platforms and mobile devices.
The latest funding brings Ensequence's total funding since it launched in 2000 to around $125 million.
For more:
- see this release
- see this article
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