Future of TV is interactive: wywy lands €2.5 million

Munich-based social TV platform wywy has secured €2.5 million in new capital from Cipio Partners, a deal that will also see it take over a majority of Cipio’s auto detection company Idioma, wywy announced in a press release today.


wywy creates interactivity products, while Idioma specialises in broadcast TV monitoring and automated detection services, which it offers to research companies like Nielsen. The two types of technologies, when put together, make the synchronization of TV streams possible. Synchronization is necessary for social apps that need the ability to check-in automatically, GigaOm explained.


Synchronization on television is difficult, “because live TV streams get delivered through a variety of technologies – cable, IPTV, satellite and so on – and they all have different latencies.”


wywy’s (pronounced why-why) aim is to take a leading role in the development of synchronizing.


Currently, 49 percent of TV viewers engage with online communities on a second screen while watching television, the press release stated.


“The way in which viewers watch television has seen little change in the last century. In the next few years TV viewing will undergo massive changes, particularly in the field of interactivity,” stated Dr. Andreas Schroeter, managing director and co-founder of wywy.