Spreecast Signs Deal with Viacom to Launch Video Chats with TV Hosts
By emeadows
October 16, 2012
October 16, 2012
- Social video platform Spreecast has announced a deal with Viacom that allows for the production of online video chats that let viewers interact with on-air hosts of Viacom-owned VH1 and Logo shows.
- Spreecast founder Jeff Fluhr talked with Billboard.biz about ways the company hopes to monetize its service with new features.
- “Fluhr says the features are likely to include letting webcasters charge admissions fees for exclusive events, with Spreecast taking a commission,” notes the article. “It’s also contemplating offering a premium tier of the service with more bells and whistles for video producers. And the company is talking with brand marketers about advertising on the site.”
- Spreecast launched in November 2011 and has gained some traction with celebrities using the service to conduct live and interactive video chats with fans. Britney Spears, Anderson Cooper and Reese Witherspoon are among those who have used the service.
- “The company raised $7 million in Series A financing in September from Meakem Becker Venture Capital, GGV Capital, MentorTech Ventures and others,” explains the article. “That’s in addition to earlier seed investments from heavy-hitters such as Gordon Crawford, a media and technology investor at Capital Research Global Investors, Edward W. Scott, Jr., co-founder of BEA Systems, and Frank Biondi, former Viacom CEO.”
- Spreecast is one of a collection of emerging online video ventures attempting to interactively connect celebrities with fans. Others include Ustream, StageIt and Shindig. “But Spreecast’s most direct rival is Google, whose Hangout feature for the company’s Google+ social network offers a similar service,” suggests Billboard.biz.
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