Tappp Expands Its Open Distribution Platform for Premium Digital Content Delivery
Raises $4.2M to connect content owners directly with consumers, bringing users a wider range of entertainment choices
Mumbai and New York(05 May 2016)
Tappp, the global media company delivering entertainment services through the first open content distribution platform, is expanding its reach and has launched services in Singapore and Australia. Tappp provides consumers with movies, TV, and Live sports, , through a network of premium content owners. Tappp’s service can be purchased by subscription or by pre-paid payment options that are distributed through retailers and online distribution partners.
Tappp’s content distribution platform combines streaming media technology with a robust secure payment system. Content owners can now offer their services to a wider global audience, without the complexity of managing foreign currency, taxes and regulatory compliance. As a result, Tappp currently has a wide variety of viewable content that includes movies, TV, games, and, uniquely, live sports, on the platform. Tappp offers services today in India and Southeast Asia, and will soon be available in North America (Canada).
“Tappp’s first year in operation not only proved out our business model, but it was also a year of tremendous growth. We are now in an excellent position to expand into new geographies and accelerate that growth by offering a wide variety of content that is not currently available,” said Sandy Agarwal, founder and CEO of Tappp. “For content owners, Tappp is one connection for seamless distribution of their digital content to geographies around the world. For consumers in each market, we offer a much wider range of content choices, including live sports, at a fraction of the cost of existing services.”
“Tappp makes it easy for content owners to distribute their content and easy for users to consume it, and that’s a winning combination. The potential for Tappp to be the one place where all of your premium content can be accessed is compelling,” said Ryan Moore, partner at Accomplice (formerly Atlas Venture). Accomplice lead the $4.2M investment round that also included participation from Transmedia and serial investors like Mike Baker, Gina Garrubbo, and Keith Nilsson.
For consumers, Tappp offers a more expansive selection of content, and a wide range of service plans and flexible payment options. Tappp offers online subscription services, as well as pre-paid cards that can be purchased at more than 100,000 major retailers. Cash payments continue to be the preferred choice for purchasing digital services in India and developing markets where 95% of the audience still uses cash or pre-paid instruments for these transactions. “The pre-paid market is too massive to ignore,” added Tapp CEO Sandy Agrawal.
For content owners, Tappp provides a distribution channel directly to consumers. With Tappp, content owners know who their customers are and can market to them directly. Because content is streamed directly to the consumer over the Tappp platform, all content owners’ digital rights management (DRM) is enforced. The platform integrates a robust, secure payment system that pays content owners, on behalf of the user, for every piece of content consumed: and removes all friction related to compliance in local markets.
Tappp has content partnerships with HooQ (Singtel Group, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros.), DittoTV, Box TV, Gaana, and others. It has retail distribution in more than 100,000 stores through partnerships with chains like Big Bazaar, and eZONE and online market places like Snapdeal and many others. Tappp also enables seamless access to payments from mobile wallets.
About Tappp
Tappp is a next-generation media company that launched commercially in India and is expanding globally. It offers an open platform for content owners to stream directly to, and communicate directly with, consumers of their content. Tappp provides consumers with a much wider selection of content and flexible payment options including online subscriptions and pre-paid cards distributed through major retail channels. For more information, visit www.tappp.com.