Sky has invested £2.6m in multiscreen delivery company Elemental Technologies – the latest move in its strategy to partner with digital start-ups.
The pay-TV operator will work closely with the US company, which provides software that enables broadcasters to stream live and on-demand content to a range of devices.
The investment will benefit Sky’s three over-the-top services – Sky Go, Now TV and Sky Store – which allow Sky customers to consume content on laptops, tablets and smart phones.
It will also benefit services being launched by Sky’s recently acquired sister companies Sky Deutschland and Sky Italia.
Portland-based Elemental Technologies, which was founded in 2006 by Sam Blackman, Jesse Rosenzweig and Brian Lewis, works with broadcasters including HBO and ESPN and helped the BBC broadcast the 2012 Olympics on internet connected devices.
It is part of Elemental Technologies’ latest round of financing, taking its total investment to $44m (£28m), with companies including Australian telecoms firm Telstra also partnering with the firm.
Sky has also backed video aggregator Pluto.tv, sports MCN Whistle Sports, video-streaming service Roku, virtual reality business Jaunt and video delivery business 1 Mainstream. It opened an office in San Francisco earlier this year to capitalise on the relationships.
Emma Lloyd, Sky director of corporate business development and start-up investm nts, said: “Internet-delivered video is fundamental to Sky’s business and will continue to grow in importance as more and more customers access content across multiple screens and devices.
“By investing in Elemental, we not only strengthen our existing commercial partnership, but we have the opportunity to share perspectives and insight into how the combination of new technologies and changing customer demands will shape the video landscape of the future.”
Elemental Technologies’ Blackman added: “As the video industry transitions to a keen focus on the viewer, Sky is defining what high-quality video on any device can be.”
