Mobile TV And Video Platform MobiTV Files For $75 Million IPO

Mobile TV and video platform MobiTV has filed its S-1 with the SEC this afternoon. In the public offering, MobiTV plans to raise as much as $75 million.

For background, MobiTV was founded in 1999 and was one of the pioneers in bringing live and on-demand TV to mobile devices. The company boasts partnerships with a number of carriers and content providers such as NBC, ESPN, Disney, CBS, Warner Music and more. And MobiTV has raised approximately $115 million from a wide range of investors, including Menlo Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Adobe Ventures and Hearst Ventures.

According to the filing, the company is the national provider of mobile television services for AT&T U-verse Live TV, NFL Mobile on Verizon, Sprint TV and T-Mobile TV, among others. The company’s technology works on 375 different types of mobile devices, across wireless and broadband networks and all major operating systems, including Android, Apple iOS, BlackBerry OS and Windows.

MobiTV licenses content from major television studios, including ABC, CBS, Disney, ESPN, Fox, MTV Networks and NBC; and in 2010 delivered over 3,000 live events to mobile devices. The company grew its mobile minutes streamed from 264 million minutes in 2007 to 1.4 billion minutes in 2010.

For 2010, MobiTV’s total revenue was $66.8 million in 2010. In the six months ended June 30, 2011, the company made $37 million. Revenue for 2008 and 2009 was $55 million and $62 million, respectively.

Unfortunately, MobiTV has yet to make a profit. The company has taken a loss for the past three years. In 2008, 2009, and 2010, the company posted losses of $25 million, $14.6 million and $14.7 million, respectively. In the first six months of 2011, MobiTV lost $8 million.

And the company warns in the filing that it depends on three customers, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile, for most of its revenue and if any of those customers were to limit or terminate their relationship with MobiTV, “it could be difficult or impossible for us to replace that revenue.” Sprint represented 56%, 69% and 54% of the company’s revenue in 2008, 2009 and 2010. AT&T and T-Mobile combined represent 24%, 17% and 24% of the company’s revenue in 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively, and 42% of its revenue in the six months ended June 30, 2011.

To make matters worse, beginning September 2012, MobiTV’s agreement with Sprint converts to a month to month contract. T-Mobile will automatically renew in December 2011 for a one-year term but the agreement is subject to T-Mobile’s right to terminate on 30 days notice. AT&T’s contract expires in January 2013.

MobiTV is just the latest in a slew of companies who filed to go public in the past two weeks. Angie’s List, Brightcove, and Jive both threw their hats into the ring last week.