WhereverTV, the Pittsburgh startup connecting international TV to living rooms everywhere, is now one of the largest providers of Indian cable programming in the world.
Coming soon, access to vintage cowboy-westerns and film noir.
WhereverTV got its start in 2007 with a black box technology that streamed international Internet content directly to TVs over a broadband connection. Since then, the company has shifted gears, teaming up with premium content aggregators like
Watch India--firms with global distribution rights to the TV channels and programming--to provide the software, interface and data management services to broadcast content to more than 172 countries.
"We're working with them now instead of competing against them," says Mark Cavicchia, CEO.
With Connected TV on target for phenomenal growth this year, WhereverTV is perfectly positioned to grow with the industry, Cavicchia believes. Partnering with companies like Watch India and Retro Films, a Las Vegas firm that will provide 1,100 vintage westerns and, later next month, film noir programming, will translate to growth for the South Side startup, which currently employs 2 full-time and 13 offshore.
"These are movies you can't easily get any other way," he says of the deal with Retro. "That's the beauty of the Internet."
A hot stop at consumers and electronics shows this past year, WhereverTV was recently selected by
AlwaysOn as one of the 2010 OnMedia Top 100 Winners, the most innovative and hottest emerging companies in digital media.
An
Innovation Works company, it's working on expanding its partnerships with Yahoo and Intel and plans to soon eliminate the black box, allowing users to log in directly right through the TV. Wherever, of course.
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Deb SmitSource: Mark Cavicchia, WhereverTV