Zenither

TV Anywhere Video Streaming Platform

Follow Zenither to be notified if they later decide to raise funding.

Highlights

1
Founded by former VP of a Hollywood film studio and ex-YouTube MCN founder.
2
Launched 80+ channels and a library of 2,000+ titles.
3
Over 40,000 user installs of our mobile apps.
4
Launched web app; mobile apps; require additional funding to complete smart TV apps and scale business. 

Our Founder

We're passionate about building a better system for content publishers, viewers and advertisers that addresses many of the problems in digital TV today.


Welcome to the Next Generation of Web TV

We are developers of Zenither a TV Anywhere platform that allows you to watch digital television channels and movies on your phone and other connected devices!

Zenither is cable TV without the cable; like if Hulu combined with Comcast Cable, yet our system can be used by both major media companies and indie digital first content creators to operate global TV networks. It takes the best aspects of the traditional TV business model and combines it with the best aspects of digital video on demand services.

Zenither is the ONLY platform we know of that allows publishers absolute control over their content from programming, scheduling to true monetization. Our ultimate goal is to level the playing field so that indie content publishers have the same business tools and opportunity for success as major media conglomerates do. Everything about the technology we have created is designed to achieve this dream.

With our patented (no. 10,244,279) 'Dynamic TV Broadcasting' system you'll never need to setup DVR again! Just scroll back on the channel guide to watch any show released earlier in the day, or search for it! You can also click on Station logos to find their channel pages to watch libraries of VOD shows and movies!

You can find our apps for iOS, Android and web browser for download at www.zenither.com

Our fundraising campaign is primarily to allow us to further enhance the existing mobile apps with new features and complete the Smart TV apps for Roku, Android TV & Amazon Fire TV.
The ZENITHER app allows all of the management functions of a television network to be handled using nothing more than a laptop and internet connection. The platform brings all of the features of a conventional TV broadcaster such as CRM, billing, CDN, user analytics etc.. to an over-the-top (OTT) service. We are a complete solution for content creators and aggregators to create their own channels and sell their own advertisement spots, while also having the opportunity to receive carriage fees and easily license their content to other channels for second-runs showings.
Zenither allows a state of the art digital TV network to be managed with just a laptop! In traditional broadcasting, network scheduling is a full-time position. Our user friendly interface helps publishers create an episodic programming guide in minutes using our 'Episode Container' system. Our proprietary algorithm utilizes 15+ data points including ratings, keywords and broadcast time to organize your content into Episode Containers designed to keep your audience engaged. The end result is a simple process with minimal learning curve and low maintenance time. Now anyone can utilize TV block programming strategies to curate video content for discoverability.
The Multi-Channel Scheduler also allows the insertion of ‘Ad segments’ into the broadcast feed. Each Ad segment can be assigned to air a unique ad into the time-spot based on geographical location of the viewer, meaning that localized ads can now be served using a single broadcast feed rather than with repeater stations currently used by traditional TV stations. Up to eighteen 30-second ad segments can be inserted per half-hour program. This maximizes the revenue potential of the Station in a way platforms like YouTube does not allow for, which only does VOD ad serves and limits the number of ad spots per video. Furthermore using Zenither a publisher can determine the price of ad inventory sold against their content, ensuring returns on investment into their content production.
Some of our digital first content publishers streaming shows and channels on Zenither.

INVEST INTO THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION BROADCASTING

This isn't a Kickstarter project. When you invest into MBS you aren't buying a t-shirt, you're buying stock in a digital television broadcasting company.

The Market Opportunity

  • OTT market is expected to be worth $117B by 2025. (Source: Grand View Research)
    More than two-thirds of U.S. homes have devices that are able to stream video. (Source: Nielsen)
  • Americans are now streaming nearly 8 billion hours per month on connected TV devices like Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. (Source: Nielsen)
  • 73% of adults 18+ who typically watch streaming OTT video say they watch ad-supported OTT video. (Source: IAB)

Launched Stage

After successfully raising money through a Reg CF raise conducted in 2017 on StartEngine and receiving an additional $1.3M from an accredited angel investor in 2018, we turned our prototype into a professional platform with applications for web browser, Android and iOS mobile devices. We launched a small marketing campaign in October 2018 and gained over 25,000 installs of our mobile apps and 9,000+ registered users, and we've continued to receive regular installs now reaching 40,000+. We have also secured rights to a library of over 2,000 titles from both digital first publishers and major studio films. Our channel guide currently delivers content from over 80 channels, including several live feeds from major TV networks. We've also signed distribution deals with companies such as Gravitas Ventures, PopcornFlix, and the European Television Guild.

If this funding round is successful we expect to launch smart TV apps for Zenither into the market by the final quarter of 2019. Around 60% of a Roku TV app is already completed!

We also expect to acquire several hundred more channels throughout 2019 and intend to make available tens of thousands of on demand films and TV shows for viewers to watch. Your funding will help us achieve this.

You can download our live apps in the iOS App Store and Google Play Store

Features We Added From Our Prior Raised Investments

During the past year we implemented the following features to the Zenither platform from our investment proceeds:

1. Permalink URLs for Station, Show and Episode watch VOD pages (similar to custom urls for Wordpress pages, which makes the app optimized for search engine results). This is a website feature only. Example: https://zenither.tv/driveinmovies/adventure/themagicsword

2. 'Subscribe' button to follow a Station and add it to the viewer's customized TV guide.

3. Station updates: Subscription feed for Viewer account that shows new content released by Stations they are subscribed to-- such as new VOD episodes, a current live broadcast or Merch products added to Store.

4. Added chat to live episode watch page, and comments to VOD episode watch page.

5. Added a “next broadcast” notification to live episode watch page that pulls data from future schedule for a Show.

6. Added ‘Merch’ tab to live and VOD episode watch pages; Shopify integration for Station owners to sell merchandise.

7. Added Merch’ button Station pages, which links to a page within Station that has Shopify store integration and allows display and purchase of items from the web app.

8. Enhanced the graphical user interface of Station pages to look more polished.

9. Add a ‘Live Now’ section to Station pages that shows only when a live broadcast has been turned on in Station controls. This links to a live broadcast episode watch page.
Customizable TV watch channel guide.

10. Implemented Analytics to Publisher account, so that Viewer account behavior is tracked, such as number of views to a Station page, number of subscribers to different stations, devices used to watch stations, how long specific episodes are watched, etc. Similar data tracking that YouTube Analytics does and helps Publishers determine what kind of content to focus on producing.

11. Implemented Geo-fencing for ad delivery and search discovery such as recommending Stations and Shows to Viewer accounts which are broadcasting near their physical location.

12. Implemented dynamic ad display system that allows Publishers to set the price for ad inventory on their Stations.

13. Implemented multiple TV Guide feeds for a Station based on time zone and region so that Publishers can create program lineups specific to time zones and regions.

14. Implemented geo-blocking options so that license holders do not show content in regions they do not have a license for and instead show alternative content that is available for watching in that region.

15. Implemented Enhanced multi-scheduler to set a show to re-broadcast in a certain schedule by day and timeslot, and schedule episodes in correct continuity (Episode 1 at 2 pm on Mon, then Episode 2 at 2 pm on Tues, etc. (‘Set repeating schedule’ feature)

16. Native apps for iOS and Android devices.

17. Payments for Station premium subscriptions and Merch store support payments made with credit cards.  This includes support for paid Viewer account subscriptions to Station bundles. This can function à la carte and allow Viewers to pay a price (like $9.99 a month) to subscribe to a package of Premium stations which can only be watched if the Viewer account is subscribed to the Package which lists those Stations.

Features We Want To Add With YOUR Investment

1. Multiple improvements to GUI interface for mobile apps based on customer feedback.

2. Support for pay-per-view live broadcast streams from a Station. These are broadcasts that must be purchased individually separate from any Premium package bundle.

3. Audio balancer on episode container which will set audio levels of each segment to be balanced, preventing clips from being excessively loud.

4. Complete our apps for smart TV systems like Roku and Apple TV, and game consoles such as PS4 and Xbox.

5. Subscription feed pages released for mobile apps.

6. Commenting and live chat released for mobile apps.

7. Merch store integration released for mobile apps.

8. Parental controls for user accounts that enable a parent to create 'child' sub-accounts which the parent can control to ensure their kids do not watch inappropriate content.

9. Enable user profile pages.

10. Complete our 'ZeniStreamer' client software for PCs that will make it "super easy" to operate a livestream on Zenither using Dynamic TV Broadcasting with dynamic ad injections (currently no existing livestreaming software can handle the multiple feed injections necessary to fully utilize our patented broadcast system).

*Additional features are planned as well but we are keeping the specifics of these close to our chests as they are potentially patentable technology.

What is 'Dynamic Television Broadcasting'?

With our Zenither TV Anywhere platform we have built “cable TV without the cable“. We believe our PATENTED technology can allow us to be the #1 TV carrier in the world. This is a boastful statement but it is one based upon the strength of the technology which we have imagined and engineered. It’s not a hypothetical; to our knowledge, we are doing TV broadcasting in a way that nobody else is doing it and which we believe is the future way all TV broadcasters will operate.

To date MBS, Inc. has 1 patent awarded (no. 10,244,279) and 10 patent applications pending that cover our innovative broadcasting method. It is our intention to completely control this new method of digital TV broadcasting and video streaming distribution. Zenither is FAR MORE than simply "yet another video streaming app"; we're an entirely new technology platform for the distribution of TV programming to audiences. This means our technology has potentially lucrative value to ALL CONTENT PUBLISHERS, even competitors such as Disney, Viacom and Netflix. For this reason we expect to work with many of the content publishers who are currently operating competitor apps and eventually bring them into our ecosystem.

Ultimately Zenither's end game is to replace traditional TV distributors like Comcast, DISH and DirecTV
to be the next great TV carrier service: Cable TV without the cable!

The Quick and Dirty Explanation of What Dynamic TV Broadcasting is

The vast majority of OTT apps we've seen on the market built by our competitors are a Netflix clone (Hulu, Amazon Prime, practically every OTT SaaS vendor you see at NAB Show, etc). These apps are functionally very similar to audio music playback software in that they organize video content into playlists with some search functionality to locate specific files. These apps can be thought of as virtual iPods playing movies and TV shows instead of songs and they don’t replicate in any way the experience of watching a traditional TV channel. If Netflix is a virtual iPod of movies then YouTube is a virtual iPod of video blogs.

On the other side of the field we have virtual multi-channel video programming distributor (vMVPD) apps
such as Sling TV, YouTube TV, DirecTV Now and so forth, that are fundamentally the same software in your cable set top box because they do essentially the same thing as these set top boxes do. These apps are primarily designed to repeat live video feeds down-linked from satellites, which in turn are fed by a large transmitter dish from a TV station which is the originating source of the video feed. Some of these apps may also be able to accept Media RSS feeds of pre-recorded video assets for delivery of “on demand” content to viewers.

(Sources 1, 2, 3, 4)

Zenither is different from either of these aforementioned types of OTT apps
, though of the two types we are closest to a vMVPD. While we do support the streaming of a single live video feed (our simulcast stations) for certain stations, we primarily deliver video content for a station using a patented process we call “Dynamic Television Broadcasting” that eliminates the need for satellites, repeater stations, CDNs, third party broadcast automation software, time delay systems, DVR, etc.

Pretty much 90% of what goes into traditional TV broadcasting is eliminated by our Dynamic TV Broadcasting system.


Likewise a viewer who is watching television content at home through our Dynamic TV system never needs to “DVR” content and can simply scroll back on the electronic programming guide to watch shows released earlier that day. There is no need to tell the Zenither system that you want to “record” a show to watch it later; all episodes released are instantly available for on-demand viewing.

I stress again
; with Zenither’s Dynamic TV broadcasting system the latest episodes of a show are available for search / on demand viewing the moment they appear on the viewer’s channel guide. This creates a profoundly improved user experience for audiences as they never need to setup a DVR system again!

Now the word ‘Dynamic’ as an adjective means “a process or system characterized by constant change, activity, or progress“. Dynamic TV broadcasting is a method of digital broadcasting which allows the individual segments of content that are delivered to audiences to be adjusted in real-time based on factors such as geographic location, time zone or personal data of the account used to watch the feed. Furthermore, unlike with all other kinds of internet based broadcasting our dynamic system stitches several video players into a feed.

With Dynamic TV Broadcasting multiple video players originating from several different sources can load through a TV carrier to deliver a linear broadcast feed for that station.

How Big Is The Market?

At its core the business of television is advertising. The global television advertising market alone is over $200 Billion (source). The North American market alone is forecast to grow from 73 billion U.S. dollars in 2016 to around 75 billion U.S. dollars in 2017 and 82 billion in 2020 (source).

With the Zenither app, third-party Station owners can sell their own ad inventory at higher prices than ad exchanges do, but they will also have the option to sell some of their ad inventory through the display network owned by MBS Inc (which will operate similarly to AdWords for Video). From these transactions MBS Inc. will take a 25% commission on ad revenue from any ads served through our ad display system (as compared to YouTube's 45% commission).

Furthermore MBS Inc. operates several Stations on Zenither
and sell ads against the content on these stations the same way that cable providers like Time Warner and Comcast operate their own TV stations on their services. We believe there is an enormous opportunity here to tap into the television advertising market as it transitions from traditional broadcasting into digital video.

The Zenither apps produced by MBS, Inc. can also support premium a la carte channel bundles for subscribers at a price similar to Netflix, which generates $8.83 Billion US in revenue in 2016 (source). We believe we can also tap into this market by allowing third party content owners to operate premium stations on Zenither which require a monthly paid subscription to watch.

Why should I invest into your company?

If you like the idea of owning part of a next-generation digital television carrier that is going after a $200 Billion market (source), then you should invest into us. We're swinging for the fences but all great rewards come with some amount of risk.

Also consider this; you can't go back in time to invest into Google, Time Warner or Disney when they first started out but YOU CAN invest into Martell Broadcasting Systems, Inc. which seeks to become a company of the same size and scale as these aforementioned companies and we believe possesses a sound business plan for accomplishing this feat considering our our goal is to replace their entire TV distribution systems with our Dynamic TV Broadcasting systems which renders the existing technology powering their TV networks obsolete. Furthermore we've built a proprietary ad system that has all of the features of Google's AdWords but is optimized specifically for the needs of television advertisers.

A lot of people have many different ideas about how wealth can be acquired. Our founder Carey Martell believes wealth is best obtained through early access to private companies with promising business models. We believe such an opportunity sits before you on this page. The question you must ask yourself is this; will you take a chance on this opportunity? Carey has invested his own money into this venture and now you can invest your own alongside him.

How is your valuation determined?

For this round we are valuing our company at $17.5M pre-revenue. This is because Zenither is more than just another OTT app. Our patented Dynamic TV Broadcasting technology can be licensed to other carriers for potentially lucrative fees. OTT related patents are considered particularly desirable in portfolios with major companies such as Disney focused on acquiring them. Having filed 11 patents patenting surrounding its technology & with one patent already having been granted the company is well positioned for a future acquisition. As an example of this potential value, Akamai paid $107M for the OTT patent portfolio owned by Octoshape. (Source)

One of the key strengths of Zenither is our unique platform features which other competitors do not possess. It is well accepted by analysts that the majority of OTT apps possess near identical features when compared to one another. Even T-Mobile recently announced they were postponing their plans for a new streaming TV service because they did not want to produce a garden variety streaming service and had no original ideas on how to differentiate from existing competitors from a technology standpoint. (Source)

Many OTT apps use a technology stack that is primarily licensed from third parties, with the source code not directly owned by the company running the streaming service. Wholly original OTT platforms with unique source code are therefore very lucrative. As an example, Verizon’s go90 platform was originally formed using assets and talent acquired from Intel's OnCue streaming service, which Verizon acquired for around $200 million in January 2014. OnCue had never left the prototype stages; the platform was never released by Intel into the market. It acquired no customers nor generated any revenue; the value was purely in its technology. This transaction showcases the extraordinary value that original OTT platforms possess in the market. (Source)

The fact that Zenither is a wholly unique code base not dependent on a stack of licensed software from third parties makes Zenither on face value more valuable than other OTT app competitors which do not own their technology, and whose only value is in userbase data and paid subscriptions. Furthermore Zenither possess a robust proprietary ad display system that is capable of programmatically serving ads into live linear feeds in such a way that ad blocking software cannot be used to skip the ads, which is very unique.

Lastly we have financial projections showing that by year 5 we expect to reach $355M in revenue. These projections are conservative as they project we will have 600,000 subscribers to our basic premium service package, with at least 480,000 of these customers subscribed to at least one add-on tier package for additional channel offerings (such as ethnic based programming). We also project at least 3,194, 797 ads to be delivered per day by year 5 which equates to around 480K viewers watching at least one hour of content per day. As our competitors in this space have anywhere from 2.3M (Sling TV) to 58M (Netflix) domestic customers we believe our userbase goals and projections are realistic and obtainable. (Sources 1, 2)


Downloads

Overview