Miniweb secures funding worth US$ 32mn to drive interactive TV platform's growth

September 8, 2008 - UK firm Miniweb, whose interactive TV platform delivers personalised, Web-style interactivity for TV viewers, has secured a 'significant' funding round worth US$ 32mn led by Meritage Funds and DeGeorge Holdings, with which the UK firm intends to finance its international growth and drive new momentum in the interactive TV market.

The Miniweb platform enables new revenue streams by allowing broadcasters to add interactivity and targeted advertising to their programmes, with the aim of providing viewers with access to personalised and relevant broadcast and broadband content. Miniweb was formed after a management buyout from Sky by Ian Valentine, Miniweb's founder and Chief Architect.

“We are deeply impressed by the people, the technology and the thinking at Miniweb," said James C Allen, Chairman of the Miniweb board and Operating Partner at Meritage Funds. "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.”

Miniweb reports that it is now delivering interactive TV capability to over 9mn homes.