Report: Katzenberg’s NewTV raises US$1bn

Former DreamWorks Animation owner Jeffrey Katzenberg has reportedly raised US$1 billion (€850 million) in funding for his upcoming mobile video service, NewTV.

Jeffrey Katzenberg

According to a CNN report, Disney, 21st Century Fox, Warner Bros, Entertainment One and other media companies have invested around US$200 million in the new venture, with the rest coming from institutional investors in the US and China.

The news follows a Bloomberg report from May claiming that Katzenberg had at that stage secured around US$800 million in financing for NewTV, which it would use to fund “high-end TV series that have YouTube-length episodes”.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s former CEO Meg Whitman came on board as NewTV’s CEO earlier this year. The service is being launched by new media and technology holding company WndrCo.