Philo operates an on‑campus internet TV service that delivers live TV streams, a network DVR, search, sharing and mobile access to students. The company places its hardware on campus or at local cable head-ends to convert existing cable or satellite feeds to IP video. Philo partners with distributors including Direct TV, Dish and Comcast and is live at a couple dozen U.S. universities. It is expanding its collection of on‑demand content and improving social features to enable students to share links to programs. Philo started with students as early adopters and expects potential expansion beyond the college market over the next 12 months. The company is relocating from Cambridge to San Francisco and hiring to grow its 28-person team. Philo (formerly Tivli) provides universities a secure, cost-effective IP television solution that streams live TV to students' devices while reducing external bandwidth needs. Its service includes a cloud-based DVR offering hours of recording, unlimited simultaneous channel recordings, a built-in guide and a sleek interface. Philo is rolling out integrations with TV Everywhere and on-demand products like HBO GO, plus interactive content and social media features. The company began in a Harvard dorm room when co-founders Tuan Ho and Nicholas Krasney built the first streaming service and has since expanded to Yale, the University of Washington, Wesleyan and other campuses. The renaming to Philo and new feature rollouts follow a $6.3M Series A that the company says is fueling rapid expansion. CEO Christopher Thorpe framed the rebrand as a signal of the company’s continued growth and commitment to delivering television to the next generation of students. PHILO operates a social television platform that lets viewers "check in" to shows and interact with programming and other viewers. Its web and mobile platform supports social interactions around live and time-shifted TV content. The company has launched v.1.2 of its iPhone and iPod Touch app, which adds support for check-ins to time-shifted television content. Apps for BlackBerry and Android are noted as still in development. PHILO has also debuted a social TV web application at www.playPHILO.com. The company recently completed a financing of an undisclosed amount.

Total raised

$16M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Jun 2015