Miniweb--a company which offers a service, dubbed "TV Key," that enables broadcasters and advertisers to repurpose Internet content as interactive enhancements to their shows or commercials on broadband-connected set-top boxes, thus providing an inexpensive way to launch interactive TV services (note: the company was founded by former BSkyB ITV executive, Ian Valentine, who spun it off from the satellite provider; its technology is based on the BSkyB-developed WTVML standard, which is supported by around 9 million set-top boxes, and was originally used to power the operator's Skynet service)--has appointed Andrew Carver as its CEO, replacing Valentine, who will now serve as the company's chief architect. According to Miniweb, the move is designed to drive its international growth. "To drive the growth and expansion of Miniweb, we need an experienced, international CEO with the strategic and commercial vision to lead our team," Miniweb chairman, James C. Allen, said in a prepared statement. "Andrew Carver brings a strong track record of senior management success in broadcast technology and IP services. He has the energy and vision to make Miniweb a true global winner and we're very pleased to have him on board." Added Valentine: "Andrew brings the international and operational management expertise that we need to achieve our vision of enhancing the value of broadcast TV and broadband entertainment by making it more interactive. I am excited to have Andrew on board and look forward to working with him to drive the adoption of our next-generation interactive TV platform."
According to Miniweb, Carver has 20 years of international senior management experience at start-ups and multinationals, and has a "strong, sales-driven" background in the technology, media and telecommunications sectors. His resume includes stints in CEO and managing director positions in various European countries for Multicom Security, Transcomm, EUnet and CompuServe; and stints in senior sales and marketing roles at NDS, Compaq and Hewlett Packard. He will sit on Miniweb's board of directors. "Not since the explosive growth of the worldwide Web has there been such a significant opportunity to revolutionize how consumers engage with entertainment, information and advertising," Carver said in a prepared statement. "Miniweb allows broadcasters, content owners and network operators to create highly targeted consumer profiling for advertisers. It empowers viewers to interact with and personalize their TV experience with relevant broadcast and broadband entertainment, making it more engaging."
In other Miniweb news: The company announced earlier this month that it has secured $32 million in venture capital in a funding round that was led by Meritage Funds of Denver, Colorado and DeGeorge Holdings III of Nevada. "Miniweb answers a clear global need for interactive services using open technology that can work on existing TV devices with a remote control," Miniweb CEO, Carver, said in a prepared statement. "The standards-based platform and browser are TV-, device-, and middleware-agnostic, making them easy and more cost-effective to deploy than proprietary solutions across cable, satellite, terrestrial or IPTV broadband networks. We have a unique and powerful service offering with an exciting, wide-ranging vision to deliver a converged broadband and broadcast entertainment experience and are already providing interactive TV capability to over 9 million homes. We are delighted with this round of funding and pleased that experienced and successful investors such as Meritage Funds and DeGeorge Holdings share our vision and recognize our market potential. This funding will enable us to invest in the additional resources we need to deliver our interactive broadcast and broadband TV vision to our customers and partners worldwide." Added Miniweb chairman, James C. Allen (who is also operating partner at Meritage Funds): "We are deeply impressed by the people, the technology and the thinking at Miniweb. We have reviewed a number of interactive TV and advertising propositions and believe that Miniweb's offering stands out not only by delivering its innovative, standards-based technology that offers advantages to every member of the broadcast and broadband value chain but also by being globally deployable and scalable on virtually any TV distribution network or TV device. We invested in Miniweb because the company has the right technology and solutions to make interactivity on the TV a huge success, no matter how the consumer receives their broadband service."
