New York-based online television network blip.tv has closed its second round of institutional capital, led by Bain Capital Ventures. The company had previously closed a round of funding (June 2007) with Ambient Sound Investments, the venture capital vehicle of the foursome that made up Skype’s founding engineering team. On both occasions, we tried to obtain more information on the amount of investment, but the company is not disclosing how big the its war chest currently is.
Update: a regulatory filing has revealed the amount was $5.2 million.
It is also not clear whether Blip.tv is making any money, although that hasn’t stopped CEO Mike Hudack from joining Team Cyprus. Web video is still a phenomenon in search of a business model. Blip.tv is still carving out a name for itself in a crowded market. Grabbing onto the safety line of this cash infusion will give it some more time to establish itself.
Blip.tv was founded in May of 2005 and claims to have grown to serving more than 51 million video views in September 2008, which would represent a 250% increase compared to September 2007 (Compete shows traffic numbers back up that statement). The company now distributes more than 37,000 actively updated Web shows, which release an average of three new episodes per month.
Blip.tv’s distribution network already includes platforms like iTunes, AOL Video and Facebook, but the money from Bain Capital will be used primarily to expand its syndication relationships.
Here is a Beet.tv interview with Blip.tv’s director of ad sales Sam Stahl from August, explaining the business:
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