TVGuide.com Acquires Fav.Tv To Expand Mobile App Team

tvguide logo

TVGuide.com has acquired social TV startup Fav.Tv in what executive vice president and general manager Christy Tanner says is a straightforward talent acquisition.

Plenty of startups are trying to reinvent the tv guide — including Fav.Tv, which was described, when it launched last fall, as not “your grandmother’s TV Guide.” But TVGuide.com (which operates the TV Guide digital properties while licensing the name to the print magazine publisher) has been trying to evolve too. It unveiled a new feature in August called Watchlist, which incorporates social elements, as well as on-demand/digital listings. Tanner credits Watchlist as one of the driving forces in the website’s growth from 4 million to 24 million unique monthly visitors.

TVGuide.com has also sold 80 sponsorships around its social features, making it “one of the very very very few actually making money from social TV,” she says.

The company has already launched iPhone, Android, and iPad apps, but Tanner says they haven’t incorporated the Watchlist yet because the company is focused on “getting it right.” Fav.tv’s two engineers will be working on the mobile apps. As for the Fav.tv apps and site, well, they’re following the predictable path of talent acquisitions — they’ll be shut down soon, and the startup is already pointing its users to set up Watchlist accounts.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Tanner says, “It’s not a big deal. It’s a very small deal.”

TVGuide.com Acquires Fav.Tv To Expand Mobile App Team

tvguide logo

TVGuide.com has acquired social TV startup Fav.Tv in what executive vice president and general manager Christy Tanner says is a straightforward talent acquisition.

Plenty of startups are trying to reinvent the tv guide — including Fav.Tv, which was described, when it launched last fall, as not “your grandmother’s TV Guide.” But TVGuide.com (which operates the TV Guide digital properties while licensing the name to the print magazine publisher) has been trying to evolve too. It unveiled a new feature in August called Watchlist, which incorporates social elements, as well as on-demand/digital listings. Tanner credits Watchlist as one of the driving forces in the website’s growth from 4 million to 24 million unique monthly visitors.

TVGuide.com has also sold 80 sponsorships around its social features, making it “one of the very very very few actually making money from social TV,” she says.

The company has already launched iPhone, Android, and iPad apps, but Tanner says they haven’t incorporated the Watchlist yet because the company is focused on “getting it right.” Fav.tv’s two engineers will be working on the mobile apps. As for the Fav.tv apps and site, well, they’re following the predictable path of talent acquisitions — they’ll be shut down soon, and the startup is already pointing its users to set up Watchlist accounts.

The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Tanner says, “It’s not a big deal. It’s a very small deal.”