Pursuits

Zeebox Aims to Be the Ultimate App for TV Watching

Broadcaster-backed Zeebox offers a one-stop info, chat, and sales app

Zeebox wants to become a central hub for TV tie-in apps

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By Kristen Schweizer

May 3, 2013 at 6:31 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

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This article is part of the May 6, 2013 issue of businessweek.

Flipping through channels in a New York hotel room, former British Broadcasting Corp. executive Anthony Rose says he realized that “rarely do we lie on the sofa and watch TV. We always have an iPhone or iPad, and we’re always checking e-mail and Facebook.” Numbers bear that out: Eighty-five percent of TV viewers with a smartphone or tablet use their mobile device while watching the tube at least once a month, and 40 percent do so daily, according to a 2012 Nielsen study.

Rose created Zeebox, an app he describes as “a next-generation TV Guide,” to provide TV viewers with information about shows, allow them to share their opinions, and market show-related merchandise. In the process, the company collects data on viewing and buying habits and sells advertising. Rose and co-founder Ernesto Schmitt, a former EMI Group music executive, launched Zeebox in December 2011; the free app has since been downloaded more than 5 million times. Rose declined to provide details on average daily use or total investment. Backers include Viacom, Comcast, NBCUniversal, and BSkyB.