MirriAd announce strategic investment including new funding from Asia Today Ltd and ZEE
28 March 2013: Digital brand integration specialist MirriAd today announced a strategic investment from Asia Today Ltd (ATL) and ZEE, a deal led by Indian media entrepreneur Subhash Chandra and brokered by David Glick, CEO of entertainment and media business fund manager, and existing shareholder Edge Investment Management (Edge).
Chandra is one of Asia’s most successful entrepreneurs with interests encompassing media, telecoms, theme parks, online gaming, packaging and commodities among others. The ZEE network he founded, now operates across all five continents and is one of the largest media businesses in Asia today.
This strategic investment between ATL and ZEE will see MirriAd deployed across India and other markets in the Asia region on broadcast, cable and satellite, and follows the success of campaigns by Zee TV in the UK, which used MirriAd technology to seamlessly integrate UK brands into the Indian-produced popular daily soap Pavitra Rishta. ZEE has 400,000 hours of programming available in six languages across the world and it aims to double its current reach of 670 million viewers in the 169 countries, to which it broadcasts.
Product placement has historically been realised at the point of production. MirriAd’s digital solution means brands can be integrated into programming remotely and independently of production schedules. This MirriAd platform offers brands the opportunity to target huge audiences across many countries with ease and across a wide variety of content locally, regionally and globally.
Edge founder David Glick said, “The results of MirriAd’s technology have to be seen to be believed, and with deregulation of product placement taking place around the world, the potential is enormous. We are delighted to welcome a businessman of the calibre of Subhash Chandra on board as a co-investor.”
MirriAd CEO Mark Popkiewicz said, “This is an exciting and important development for MirriAd. Asia and in particular India represents an incredibly important growth market with enormous potential for our bespoke technology for both media owners and brands. With a high GDP growth rate and a population of over 1.21 billion, India is a must have market for brands. Edge is an active and supportive investor with immense entertainment industry knowledge, and to have Subhash Chandra together with ZEE and ATL commit to our future is a significant endorsement of our vision.”
ZEE Chairman Subhash Chandra adds, “MirriAd’s technology offers ZEE and ATL a great opportunity to integrate locally relevant brands across all our territories, who knows, we might even be able to create an ad-free channel before long “.
About MirriAd Limited | www.mirriad.com
Launched in early 2008 by CEO Mark Popkiewicz, previously a director of BBC Ventures, MirriAd aims to revolutionize product placement for the digital era. MirriAd has developed an end-to-end platform able to digitally integrate brands into professionally produced video content at scale. MirriAd’s platform analyses content, creates inventory and delivers campaigns together with audience engagement and supporting analytics. MirriAd’s digital integrations have been extensively researched and proven to achieve excellent results for brands whilst positively impacting production values and the viewer experience on line and on TV.
Headquartered in London with offices in Mumbai, MirriAd is privately owned with institutional investors including Edge Investment Management, Edge Group, Oxford Technology Management, Oxford Capital Partners, STV Group PLC, Seraphim Capital and South East Growth Fund and notable angel investors Bruce Smith and Stephen Bullock.
About Asia Today Limited (ATL)
Asia Today Limited (ATL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE). ATL is an owner of television signals being distributed to the South Asian community across various countries through local agents. Its registered headquarters is at Ebene House, 33, Second Floor, Cybercity Ebene, Mauritius.
About Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (“ZEE”) | www.zeetelevision.com
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) is one of India’s leading television media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of Hindi programming in the world, with an extensive library housing over 100,000+ hours of original television content. With rights to more than 3,000 movie titles from foremost studios and of iconic film stars, ZEE houses the world’s largest Hindi film library. Through its strong presence worldwide, ZEE entertains over 670+ million viewers across 169 countries. ZEE was selected Business Superbrands 2010-11, Industry Validated.
Pioneer of television entertainment industry in India, ZEE’s well known brands include Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee Premier, Zee Action, Zee Classic, Zee Smile, 9X, Ten Sports, Ten Cricket, Ten Action, Ten Golf, Zee Cafe, Zee Studio, Zee Trendz, Zee Jagran, Zee Salaam, Zing, ETC Music and Zee Khana Khazana. The company also has a strong offering in the regional language domain with channels such as Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee Bangla, Zee Bangla Cinema, Zee Telugu, Zee Kannada, Zee Tamizh and ETC Punjabi. The company’s recently launched HD offerings include Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Zee Studio HD and Ten HD.
ZEE and its affiliate companies have leading presence across the media value chain including television broadcasting, cable distribution, direct-to-home satellite services, digital media, multiplexes, amusement parks and print media amongst others.
Media Contact:
Jayshree Kumar – Mumbai / Abhishek Agrawal – Delhi
Corporate Brand – ZEE
Mobile: 97692 86661 / 98114 38591