CoverItLive
Live experiences platform used by publishers, broadcasters & brands worldwide, giving them the ability to produce real-time, interactive and social experiences..
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | investor investor investor | €0.0 | round |
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* | N/A | - | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
CoverItLive, founded in Toronto in 2007 by Keith McSpurren, was a social media platform specializing in real-time event coverage. The service provided a web-based live blogging tool that allowed media companies, brands, and individual journalists to broadcast live commentary, creating an interactive "second screen" experience for their audiences. Key features included the ability to integrate text, photos, and live polls, as well as incorporate reader comments and social media feeds from platforms like Twitter into a live stream.
The company's primary clients were major media publications and brands looking to engage audiences during live events such as news, sports, and entertainment. High-profile users included ESPN, BBC, Yahoo, News Corp., and the NFL. The business model evolved from a free service to an enterprise solution sold to major online news outlets, with revenue generated through monthly subscription fees based on usage or traffic. This enterprise version offered an "always on" feature, allowing publishers to maintain a permanent live blog page for breaking news or scheduled events, simplifying the process for writers and creating valuable sponsorship opportunities for publishers.
CoverItLive's journey involved several significant milestones and acquisitions. In January 2009, the company secured $1 million in a seed funding round. Demand Media first acquired a minority stake in August 2009 before fully acquiring the company in February 2011. In July 2014, Toronto-based competitor ScribbleLive (later known as Scribble Technologies Inc.) acquired CoverItLive from Demand Media, integrating the two platforms over time. This series of acquisitions culminated in December 2019, when ScribbleLive itself was acquired by the Brazilian content marketing company Rock Content. The CoverItLive service was officially discontinued on December 31, 2018.
Keywords: live blogging, real-time engagement, content engagement platform, second screen experience, social media integration, live event coverage, digital media tools, audience interaction, interactive content, media technology, Demand Media, ScribbleLive, Rock Content, Keith McSpurren, live commentary, online journalism, social walls, live streaming