New short video streaming service raises billions of dollars

Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of the co-founders of DreamWorks, has raised $1 billion for his NewTV streaming service. He wants to use the service to offer videos of a maximum of ten minutes, intended for mobile viewing.

The money was raised in a first investment round and was raised by ten major American media companies and the Chinese Alibaba, writes The New York Times. The service, which has the working title NewTV, must be set up with the money. Katzenberg’s goal is to compete with services like Netflix, but with short videos.

The US studios financially supporting the new service include Walt Disney, 21st Century Fox, Metro Goldwyn Mayer, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Viacom and Warner Media. The fact that the service also receives money from the Chinese Alibaba is striking, because American streaming services such as Netflix are not available in the country.

With the money raised, NewTV can set up assignments to make videos. The new service will have to knock on the door of media companies to make its own short series and programs. They will probably come from the media companies that invest.

The New York Times notes that NewTV will operate in a crowded market. According to the newspaper, about five hundred series are now produced by media companies every year. Many of these are now destined for streaming services. Apple also wants to enter the market, last year it was announced that the iPhone maker is investing a billion dollars in video productions. In addition, Disney will launch its own video platform next year.

NewTV currently employs seven people. In 2020 there should be two hundred. It is not yet known when the streaming service for short programs will go live and whether it will also be available directly in the Benelux.