Zeebox: A Better TV Viewing Experience

Zeebox is a London-based social networking and social TV platform. It is available for most mobile devices: iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry 10, BlackBerry OS and Android. Its mission is to create a better TV viewing experience by integrating the power of the web and its social influence into live TV.

With Zeebox, TV viewers are provided with the contextual information that would let them enjoy their TV viewing. Among the information provided are the things that are visible and audible during the broadcast, and the friends who are also watching the same TV show.

Zeebox was founded by Anthony Rose, Ernesto Schmitt, Alex Nunes, Max Bleyleben and Simon Miller. The company was launched as tBone in October 2011.

Rose was in a room of a New York hotel in early 2011, flipping through different channels on his room’s TV. He thought about how many people are lying on their sofas watching TV. He realized that most people use mobile gadgets like iPad or iPhone to check their Facebook accounts and emails. The numbers say it all. About 85% of TV viewers use their mobile devices to watch the tube at least once every month while 40% do it daily.

This inspired Rose to create a platform that has the potential to become the next generation TV guide. Aside from information, TV viewers can also share their opinions and sell merchandise related to the TV shows. Zeebox has found an avenue to collect useful data that pertains to people’s viewing and purchasing habits. Zeebox can also earn through advertising. Since Zeebox’s launching in October 2011, the company’s free apps have hit over 5 million downloads.

In the near future, Zeebox can be able to integrate online videos, chat rooms, polls and games into the apps. As more and more broadcasters are willing to cooperate with Zeebox, this dream is nearing its fulfillment.

Zeebox has strong financial backing from established investors such as BSkyB, NBC Universal, Comcast and Viacom.