The word is out--Move Networks is leading the industry in providing long-form video on the Internet.
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LAS VEGAS, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — This week at the NAB Show 2008, Microsoft Corp. is showcasing its offerings that support the entire content life cycle — from content creation and management to delivering end-user experiences — highlighting the technologies and solutions that media and entertainment companies need to align business and content creation processes.
Move Networks on Monday said it closed a $46 million round of Series C venture investment and cemented key strategic partnerships, as the online television technology developer seeks to develop video services for broadcasters and publishers.
Leading the deal is venture firm Benchmark Capital, joined by strategic backers Comcast Corp.’s Comcast Interactive Media, Cisco Systems Inc., and Spanish-language broadcast leader Grupo Televisa. Also participating in the round are previous investors Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Steamboat Ventures, the private investment arm of Walt Disney.
Move Networks has just raised a huge round: $46 million of new financing. Benchmark Capital led the round; other investors include Cisco (CSCO), Comcast Interactive Media (CMCSA), Televisa, and return backers Steamboat Ventures (DIS) and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.
The challenge for Move Network: Take business away from Adobe’s (ADBE) Flash, which dominates the Web video market. And Flash has a built-in advantage–it’s already installed on nearly every computer with an Internet connection.
Red hot Move Networks, the heavily-backed provider of high quality online video streaming, has raised a huge $46 million third round led by Benchmark Capital, as well as Cisco (NSDQ: CSCO), Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) Interactive Media (a division of Comcast Corp.), and Televisa, making its entry into the crazy-money territory. Previous backers Steamboat Ventures (Disney) and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners also participated. The company has previously raised about $45 million over two rounds, bringing its total haul to around $91 million. The American Fork, Utah-based company touts a higher level of quality than other video providers, including HD, and it claims to be able to eliminate buffering.
Evans Data official says Microsoft’s support of its products will drive the growth of the company’s alternative to Adobe Flash over the next 18 months.
Despite Adobe Flash’s dominance in the world of rich Internet applications, Microsoft’s competing offering, Silverlight is expected to triple its market share, according to a market researcher.
Move Networks, which provides Internet TV delivery services, announced a $46 million third round of funding led by Benchmark Capital with participation of Cisco Systems and Comcast Interactive Media.
Other investors participating in the round include Televisa and previous investors Steamboat Ventures and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners.
Investors are betting big on video streaming provider Move Networks. The Utah-based company just announced that it raised $46 million in a C round of venture financing. The round was led by Benchmark Capital, and also included Cisco, Comcast Interactive Media, Televisa, Steamboat Ventures and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners. That brings the total raised since December, 2006 to $91.3 million. (Competitor Brightcove has raised $86.2 million and Maven Networks was bought by Yahoo for $160 million in February).
When it comes to streaming HD video on the Web, Move Networks is becoming one of the preferred video streaming partners for many major media sites, including ABC.com, Discovery.com, ESPN.com,and Fox.com. But Move requires that viewers install its own proprietary video player as a plug-in to their browsers. So in a way it competes with Flash, which is getting better all the time. (Brightcove is taking a BitTorrent approach). High-definition streams still tend to run into network bottlenecks and slow connection speeds at people’s homes. Whoever can solve or bypass these problems will become adopted by more video sites as the demand for HD video rises.
Move Networks, a content delivery network for high-definition television online, has closed on a $46 million series C round of financing led by Benchmark Capital. Cisco, Comcast Interactive Media, and Televisa, along with the company’s previous investors Steamboat Ventures and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, also joined the round.
The American Fork, Utah-based company has raised more than $44 million in two previous rounds of funding since 2006. The company supplies video-delivery technology to publishers including ABC, Discovery, ESPN, and Fox. But it has a hefty list of rivals, including Akamai, Edgecast and Limelight Networks.