<videovortex> make.tv

[Geert Lovink]

Tornado Insider: German IP-TV startup receives funding to enable  
online broadcasting

The German start-up company make.tv is looking to shake up the web-TV  
sector with new cash from High-Tech Gründerfonds and existing  
shareholders. The second round follows an initial investment just  
after the company’s creation in November last year. The backers in  
that early round were: Andrin Bachmann (co-founder of Glocalnet,  
venture partner of M/C Venture Partners and investor in QXL), Greg  
Lockwood (former chairman of betfair.com) and other private investors.  
Dr. Schwarz-Schilling & Partners advised in the deal.

make.tv enables users to produce their own live show on the Web  
without the need for conventional broadcast technology. They can do  
this either alone or in a team, use multiple cameras and air whatever  
they want: be it music concerts, news shows or presentations. The  
virtual studio is operated from the user’s computer, running in the  
Internet browser.

TV networks are increasingly launching special-interest channels and  
using the Internet as another distribution channel. But the make.tv  
team are not impressed with strategies that only use the Internet as a  
medium for the downstream exploitation of existing content. According  
to them, the Internet requires new formats that are produced  
specifically for it and use the possibilities of the medium. And now  
they provide the tools to do just that.

make.tv’s allows producers to decide for themselves whether they want  
to charge an entry fee or offer their shows for free. The service also  
enables products or electronic media to be sold during online shows.

make.tv was founded by Andreas Meyer (also founder of  
fotocommunity.de) and Georg Lenzen. The company launched the service  
late September 2008, after it had already been confronted with some  
unusual pre-launch inquiries, including a renowned opera company that  
wanted to broadcast every performance on the Internet, anti-nuclear  
activists looking to set up a channel to broadcast their  
demonstrations live, and an international special interest channel for  
graffiti artists.