Facebook and Twitter aren’t the only two companies interested in livestreaming.
Time Warner makes livestreaming bet, invests in Kamcord
The funding values the company at more than $100 million.
Snowman Games
Kamcord, a livestreaming app that lets users broadcast the contents of their phone screen, has raised $10 million in a new funding round led by Time Warner. The funding values the company at more than $100 million, according to co-founder Aditya Rathnam. Tencent, TransLink Capital, XG Ventures, Plug & Play Ventures and Wargaming also participated in the round.
Kamcord does things differently from Facebook Live or Twitter’s Periscope, which both let people broadcast from the camera on their smartphone. Kamcord, on the other hand, lets you broadcast what’s actually on your phone screen, which makes it popular for mobile gamers and those who like to watch people play mobile games. (Yes, people like watching other people play video games online — just ask Twitch.)
The gaming element is one of the reasons Time Warner was interested in Kamcord. Time Warner-owned Turner is launching a televised eSports league, and while no official partnerships have been set in stone, Kamcord would make an obvious companion, says Rachel Lam, the group managing director of the Time Warner Investments group.
As part of the deal, Lam is joining Kamcord’s board of directors.
There’s one other key difference between Rathnam’s product and its more popular competitors: Kamcord actually pays its broadcasters. People who watch a Kamcord stream can pay money to send the creator “virtual goods,” essentially a donation that is then split between the company and the broadcaster.
The hope is that paying creators — something Facebook does for a few high-profile broadcasters but Periscope has never done — will lure media personalities who currently post videos on YouTube, says Rathnam.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
