Cloud-based TV operator Magine has secured a further round of financing that will enable the company to drive forward the expansion of their recently deployed OTT television delivery service.
Magine founders, Michael Werner, Matthias Hjelmstedt, Erik Wikstrom,Xavier Ritort and Hakan Tranvik have succeeded in raising $19m through an agreement signed with a group of Swedish and international investors.
The agreement will mean that the international rollout of the platform will accelerate considerably. The first international launches will take place in the key TV markets of Germany and Spain, only a few months after the First Edition of Magine went live in Sweden.
On the strength of this fundraising round, Magine predicts that the service will be available to viewers in at least five further markets before the end of the year.
“Magine is not just another TV platform, but a totally new way of accessing and consuming content. It is a subscription service that was devised to make viewers come back to watching TV and this is why broadcasters and content providers are very keen to adopt the service,” said Magine chairman Michael Werner.
“Magine helps them create new forms of monetizing whilst respecting the current rights chain. Our investors recognized immediately that the huge potential for content discovery and social interaction among viewers thus generating new revenue streams »
In Sweden Magine hosts channels such as Discovery, CNN International, BBC, Eurosport, National Geographic, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network as well as home national broadcasters SVT and TV4. The company is in advanced negotiations with a number of othermajor international media and entertainment groups and further announcements are expected later this month.
