Sky invests US$5 million in OTT startup 1Mainstream

Sky has invested a further US$5 million (€4.7 million) in California-based over-the-top technology company 1Mainstream, taking its total investment in the firm to date to US$7 million.

1Mainstream operates a platform for distributing linear and on-demand video to a range of internet-connected devices. Its automation technology is also designed to allow content firms to launch OTT services across platforms like Apple TV, Xbox, Android TV and Samsung in “only a matter of weeks and with almost no upfront costs.”

Sky said that as part of this investment, 1Mainstream plans to create a new subsidiary, with Sky as a shareholder, focusing on new product concepts.

Sky first invested US$2 million in 1Mainstream back in August 2013 and has used the firm’s platform to broaden distribution of its OTT services like Sky News and Now TV – its online sports, entertainment and movie offering.

“We’ve already seen the real value by extending the distribution of our content onto new platforms and into new geographies. The 1Mainstream team have some exciting new product ideas in the pipeline and we look forward to exploiting those in the future,” said Emma Lloyd, Sky’s director of corporate business development and startup investments.

The latest 1Mainstream investment is part of a wider strategy by Sky to back startups, with the firm recently investing in online sports network Whistle Sports, online video aggregator Pluto.TV, and US ad tech firm Sharethrough. Sky is also an investor in web streaming firm Roku.