HBO and Discovery invest in ‘holographic content’ firm

HBO and Discovery have taken an equity stake in OTOY, a company focused on making holographic and immersive content a mass-market proposition.

OTOY said that it will use the investment to develop and distribute “original holographic content”, enabling HBO and Discovery to deliver new entertainment experiences to consumers.

OTOY is currently working with Jon Stewart on the development of upcoming content for HBO built using its platform, which is designed to make content available across TV, mobile, online, social platforms and emerging wearable technologies like virtual and augmented reality.

“HBO prides itself on being at the forefront of entertainment, both in the exceptional content we produce, and in the ways we bring that content to consumers,” said Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

“OTOY has a roadmap for the future of entertainment and technology. Their creativity and drive perfectly aligns with HBO’s.

Paul Guyardo, chief commercial officer at Discovery Communications said: “OTOY technology is a massive breakthrough and we look forward to seeing it take VR and AR experiences, including Discovery VR, to a whole new level.”

OTOY founder and CEO, Jules Urbach, said that the future of entertainment is “not going to be constrained by a screen, nor consumed through monolithic apps or platforms.”

“OTOY’s mission is to make holographic and immersive content a mass market proposition for consumers, artists and publishers alike. A key part of this endeavour is unifying production and delivery of content across all possible endpoints, from HTML5, to TV and social, to wearables.”

OTOY’s major shareholders include Autodesk and Yuri Milner and its board includes the executive chairman of Google’s new parent company, Alphabet, Eric Schmidt, and former IBM chairman, CEO and president, Samuel Palmisano.