Interactive TV News Round-Up (VI): thePlatform, AdoTube, Taboola, Coincident, weComm, Mediafly, TiVo

Submitted by tracyswedlow on March 11, 2011 - 1:08am

--thePlatform Adds AdoTube, Taboola, Coincident.TV, weComm and Mediafly to its Partner Program
--Report: TiVo Testing Hulu Plus, Eyeing Live Streaming to iPad
--TiVo Increases Amount of Planned Private Debt Offering to $150 Million

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been busy this week working on the TV of Tomorrow Show 2011, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. Once again, we anticipate that it will take us a few days to catch up with all the news we plan to cover: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

Comcast-owned online video platform provider, thePlatform, has announced the addition of five new members to its partner program: AdoTube (which thePlatform says "offers monetization services through a premium ad network and an overlay ad exchange"), Taboola (which thePlatform says "helps increase viewership--and advertising revenues--by enabling Web sites to offer personalized video recommendations"), Coincident.TV (which thePlatform says "merges online video, social media, weblinks and commercial transactions to create one immersive experience"), weComm (which thePlatform says "enables users to cost-effectively create applications once and deliver them instantly on all kinds of devices from iPhones, iPads, Androids and BlackBerrys to Windows Mobile, Java and Symbian phones"), and Mediafly (which thePlatform says enjoys "technology and device partnerships [that] provide you with actionable metrics on video consumption tailored for smartphones, tablets and Internet-connected TV devices").
TiVo is inviting customers to participate in a field trial of Hulu Plus on the TiVo Premiere and is also sending out surveys to customers, gauging their interest in being able to "stream live TV, DVR recordings and TV shows from a cable company's on-demand library to one's iPad" both at home and remotely, according to a report in Engadget, which cites various "tipsters."
In other TiVo news: Earlier this week (see the article published on itvt.com, March 8th), [itvt] reported that the company was planning a private offering of $120 million in convertible senior notes, the proceeds of which it plans to use to "fund intellectual property litigation and research and development spending and for general corporate purposes." The company has now announced that it has increased the amount of the offering to $150 million.