In This Update:
• Sirius XM Reaches Investment Deal with Liberty
• Twitter Rakes in $35 Million in New VC Funding
• At Least Half of Kid-Related Ad Dollars Now Going To Non-TV Sites
• Exalt Musters $15 Million for Wireless Backhauling
• Amazon Invests In Online Ad Optimization Firm Yieldex
• Acer Gets Into Smartphone Market
• NBC Direct Now Offering Free HD Video Downloads
• MobiTV Reaches 6 Million Subs
• Offerpal’s Virtual Money Service Gets $15 Million in Funding
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Sirius XM Reaches Investment Deal with Liberty
DEAL BOOK, NEW YORK TIMES
Sirius XM, the embattled satellite radio company, said early Tuesday that it reached an 11th-hour deal with Liberty Media that will allow it to repay maturing debt and avoid a bankruptcy filing, at least for the moment. The last-minute deal parries an aggressive move by EchoStar, which owns the Dish Network and had been buying Sirius’s debt in hopes of taking control of the company if it defaulted. It calls for a total of $530 million in loans from Liberty Media, the media group controlled by John Malone, which will get preferred stock convertible into 40 percent of Sirius’s common equity, the companies said in a press release Tuesday.
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Twitter Rakes in $35 Million in New VC Funding
MERCURY NEWS
The messaging network Twitter, already boasting fast growth and considerable media buzz, is now touting a $35 million infusion from new venture capital partners and “Big Plans for Twitter Inc.” In a recession that has most Silicon Valley companies trying to stretch their available cash, San Francisco-based Twitter accepted what co-founder Biz Stone on Friday called “an offer we couldn’t refuse.” “This thing is taking off,” said Todd Chaffee of Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), which invested $14 million in the round while Benchmark Capital invested $21 million. Previous investors Union Square and Spark also increased their investments, though the amounts were undisclosed.IVP, Chaffee pointed out, departed from its normal practice of making later-stage investments to grow already profitable companies to invest in a fast-growing startup that has yet to earn a dime.
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At Least Half of Kid-Related Ad Dollars Now Going To Non-TV Sites
PAIDCONTENT
The share of online ad dollars going to TV-related sites appears to be dwindling, unidentified sources tell Mediaweek, eroding the domination by Nickelodeon, Disney and Cartoon Network. Competition against the TV-centric media companies has been rising from companies ranging from ad network Betawave (formerly GoFish) to the iPhone. As kids spend their online time outside the larger companies sites like Disney.com, Nick.com and CartoonNetwork.com, between 50 percent and 75 percent of online advertising is being directed at sites that aren’t tied to TV programming.
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Exalt Musters $15 Million for Wireless Backhauling
VENTURE BEAT
Exalt Communications, a company that transmits wireless data through microwave radio systems to relieve congestion on regular networks, announced today that it brought in $15 million in third-round funding to expand its “backhauling” systems globally. The Campbell, Calif. company claims that demand for its products is on the rise as mobile users increasingly swap high-bandwidth data, including text messages, photos and video.
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Amazon Invests In Online Ad Optimization Firm Yieldex
PAIDCONTENT
Yieldex, a New York City-based online ad targeting optimization firm, has received $8.5 million in second round funding. It was led by Madrona Venture Group, and included new investor Amazon.comand and prior investors Sequel Venture Partners and First Round Capital. Among the only customers it has publicly announced yet: Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Some more on that deal here. The company is also moving its HQ from Boulder, Colo., to New York City; it was founded in 2007, and CEO Tom Shields co-founded NetGravity in 1995.
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Acer Gets Into Smartphone Market
PULSE2
Acer, the Taiwanese netbook manufacturing company has decided to step into the smartphone market. They announced this at Mobile World Congress and unveiled about 8 new handsets. “The smartphone market is a natural direction of our long-term mobile strategy,” stated Acer CEO Gianfranco Lanci. The first four handsets will be available in March or April. The first Acer models will be the DX900, X960, M900 and F900. These phones will be part of Acer’s Tempo line of phones and will feature touch-screen capabilities. Last year, Acer acquired E-Ten, a phone manufacturing company.
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NBC Direct Now Offering Free HD Video Downloads
EHOME UPGRADE
NBC has re-released the NBC Direct service for a third time. Even though NBC content is still available in a streaming form from HULU and the NBC site itself, NBC Direct changes it up by letting you download the video to your desktop or laptop. This is pretty handy for airplane or train travel, or anywhere else you may want to watch a show without an internet connection. Another bonus is the fact that NBC offers this programming in both HD and standard definition formats.
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MobiTV Reaches 6 Million Subs
MULTICHANNEL NEWS
MobiTV announced it has signed up more than 6 million subscribers for its mobile media service, which is available from carriers including AT&T and Sprint Nextel in the U.S. The company, which has distribution deals with 20 mobile carriers, provides more than 40 channels of content, including programming from NBC, ABC, ESPN, Disney, CNBC and MSNBC
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Offerpal’s Virtual Money Service Gets $15 Million in Funding
GIGAOM
Offerpal Media is announcing today that it has secured $15 million in Series B funding led by D. E. Shaw Ventures. (InterWest Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners, original investors in the Fremont-based company, also participated.) That’s a lot of money to invest during a notably down market, but after a phone conversation with Offerpal CEO Anu Shukla, I can see why. The company was profitable four months after its October 2007 launch, and it continues to generate $30-40 million in monthly revenue, according to Shukla. What will surprise many is how it makes that money: by linking real world marketing offers with virtual currency from hundreds of popular social games running on Facebook, MySpace, etc. Say you want some extra “FFS Coins” to spend in the Friends For Sale Facebook app. You can buy Coins for real cash – or you can complete a transaction with one of Offerpal’s advertising partners. Sign up for a Netflix account, for example, and get millions of virtual FFS Coins as a bonus.
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