i.TV

i.TV, founded in 2008 by CEO Brad Pelo and Justin Whittaker, established itself as a key player in the social television and second-screen market. Pelo, a serial entrepreneur, was previously a member of the founding team at Ancestry.com and served as the founding CEO of its parent company. His diverse background also includes film and live event production.

The company's core business revolves around creating interactive experiences for television viewers on secondary devices like smartphones and tablets. i.TV develops technology that allows users to engage with TV content through features like social media integration, real-time information, and interactive elements. This business model caters to media brands and advertisers seeking to enhance viewer engagement and gather valuable audience data. Revenue is generated through partnerships with major media companies and technology firms to power their second-screen platforms.

i.TV's flagship product was its highly popular TV guide application for iOS and Android, which at one point was the most downloaded in its category on the Apple App Store. This app provided users with TV listings, the ability to search for shows across various platforms like iTunes, Hulu, and Netflix, and set viewing alerts. The company leveraged this technology to forge significant partnerships. In 2011, i.TV collaborated with AOL to relaunch AOL TV. A notable achievement was the co-creation of Nintendo TVii for the Wii U console, a service that integrated cable, streaming services, and DVR functionalities into a single application, allowing users to interact with content via the GamePad. Furthermore, i.TV powered 'viEWer' for Entertainment Weekly, a social platform for viewers to connect with each other and the magazine's editors. The company's technology also had integration agreements with TiVo, Netflix, Hulu, and Comcast. In a move to consolidate its market position, i.TV acquired GetGlue, a social TV check-in platform, in November 2013 and subsequently launched tvtag in 2014, an app for sharing and commenting on TV moments.

Keywords: second screen, social TV, TV guide app, interactive television, Brad Pelo, Nintendo TVii, AOL TV, GetGlue, tvtag, viewer engagement, digital media, mobile application, television technology, entertainment technology, media partnerships, content discovery, interactive content, multi-screen experience, live event engagement, social media integration