Blip.tv Closes Second Round of Funding Led by Skype Founders' VC Fund

Company Also Marks 2nd Anniversary

    NEW YORK, June 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Blip.tv, the video sharing site
 focused on independently produced shows, today announces the closing of its
 series B financing and its first venture capital investors. The round was
 led by Ambient Sound Investments (ASI), the venture capital fund
 established by the four founding engineers of Skype.
     Other participants in the round include the venture fund Lauder
 Partners; Jeffrey Sechrest, Managing Director and co-head of the media and
 entertainment division of Lazard; Andrew Rasiej, founder of the Personal
 Democracy Forum; Jonathan Kopp, a partner in the PR, marketing and
 advertising firm SS+K; and Ken Sawyer, founder of Saints Capital.
     Blip.tv, founded in May 2005, is also marking its second anniversary.
 The company plans to use the funding to continue building its
 industry-leading position as a next-generation television network that's
 open to everyone and offers talent a meaningful stake in their own success.
 Blip.tv will focus its expansion on advertising sales, content management
 and programming, talent relations and technology development.
     "Blip.tv is driving the evolution of television by creating a network
 that empowers a new breed of entertainers and producers who are changing
 the television industry," said Mike Hudack, CEO of blip.tv. "Like Skype,
 blip.tv emerged from the grassroots, and we are thrilled that ASI shares
 our vision for the future of episodic content on the Internet -- a future
 in which the gates are blown away and talented individuals have an
 opportunity to succeed on the basis of their own merits, rather than the
 connections they may or may not have."
     With ASI's support, blip.tv, which shares revenue with content creators
 on a 50/50 basis, will expand its ability to give content creators the
 opportunity to generate revenue by offering new advertising options,
 advanced technologies, and an extended distribution network to make blip.tv
 shows available in as many places and on as many devices as possible. The
 company already distributes user video to destinations with combined reach
 measured in the hundreds of millions.
     "We really like the way that blip.tv has been built very rationally
 from the ground-up based on feedback from users," said Toivo Annus,
 managing partner of ASI. "By supporting the best and brightest video
 producers, blip.tv has created an entertainment network that is nurturing
 fresh, fun, quality programming that's evolving as quickly as the
 technology that supports it. We're excited about our investment in this
 very talented team and are looking forward to helping the company continue
 to grow and influence the media industry."
     Blip.tv provides hosting, distribution and advertising for its shows.
 Sponsors have included Dewars, Dove and the video chat community Paltalk.
 The company hosts thousands of shows including Wallstrip, The Show with Ze
 Frank, Goodnight Burbank and the Webby-award winning shows JETSET and Terra
 TV.
     About Blip.tv
     Blip.tv is the world's leading next-generation television network. It
 was created from the ground up to facilitate the promotion, distribution
 and monetization of the best independently produced shows on the Internet.
 Shows on blip.tv range from award-winning scripted comedies and dramas to
 newsmagazines and reality shows. Blip.tv provides hosting, distribution,
 marketing and advertising sales services to each show on its network. Shows
 are available on the destination site www.blip.tv and syndicated throughout
 the Web and beyond to: iTunes and Apple TV, television video-on-demand
 (VOD) services and major destination sites like AOL Video and Yahoo! Video.
 Blip's technology allows advertising to be embedded in the video wherever
 it is watched. The company splits all advertising revenue 50/50 with
 content creators. The company's goal is to allow talented producers to
 remain independent and concentrate on making great shows while blip.tv
 provides all the services necessary to help sustain their efforts.
     About ASI
     Ambient Sound Investments (ASI) was established by the four founding
 engineers of Skype, the Internet telephony company. ASI is a professional
 investment fund with a specific interest in technology start-ups focusing
 on areas ranging from software and services to applications and devices.
 Since March 2006 the company has invested in several sectors including
 telematics, biotechnology, software and services. For more information,
 please visit: http://www.asi.ee/
 
 

SOURCE Blip.tv