Ustream.TV (www.ustream.tv), a web-based live video broadcasting platform, today announced additional funding from Western Technology Investors, the Band of Angels, and other prominent angel investors. The funding comes on the heels of adding four-star General Wesley Clark to Ustream.TV’s Board of Advisors.
Since its launch in March of this year, more than 115,000 people have joined Ustream.TV broadcasting one million unique viewer hours per month. Each day, 5,000 hours of video are broadcast on Ustream.TV with up to 300 simultaneous broadcasts taking place, attracting hundreds of thousands of viewers. Recently, popular recording artists The Plain White T’s broadcast a live concert exclusively on Ustream.TV to more than 150,000 fans around the world.
The Ustream.TV web-based platform is being discovered by people with an infinite range of interests, most notably in the political area. During the past quarter, Ustream.TV has seen explosive growth in usage by presidential hopefuls who are taking to the platform to connect with their constituents in ways that have never before been possible. Several presidential candidates have chosen to take the concept of the YouTube/CNN debates a step further, using Ustream.TV to answer the public’s questions in a live, unrestricted, interactive forum.
“With Ustream.TV, we are witnessing the beginning of fundamental changes in the way politics will be conducted,” said General Wesley Clark, “The technology allows statewide and national campaigns to have the same level of touch as local campaigns, and allows every voter to reach out to a candidate and ask the questions that matter most to him or her. I’m honored to join the Ustream.TV board of advisors and look forward to working with my fellow West Point graduates Brad Hunstable and John Ham on the Ustream team, who are now serving their country by using technology to strengthen an essential democratic process.”
Recent examples of politicians on Ustream.TV include:
- Sen. Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate: Total participants at YearlyKos breakout session: 10,000; at International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) Convention: 2,400
- Sen. Barack Obama and Oprah South Carolina Rally: Total participants: 74,000; total views of recorded session: 50,000
- Gov. Mitt Romney, Faith in America: Total participants: 8,000; total views of recorded session: 280,000
- YearlyKos Presidential Debate: Total participants: 15,000
- Sen. Mike Gravel Alternative Debate: Total participants: 10,000
“Working with Ustream has opened up an entirely new channel for our campaign delivering interactive and direct communication with voters. The ability to produce our own content enables us to highlight various issues that the mainstream media have gone to great lengths to ignore. This empowering technology will continue to revolutionize the political process, raise the level of debate, and enhance our democracy,” Mike Klein, Campaign Manager, Kucinich for President 2008
About General Wesley Clark
During thirty-four years of service in the United States Army, General Wesley K. Clark rose to the rank of four-star general as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Europe. After his retirement in 2000, he became an investment banker, author, commentator, and businessman. In September 2003 he answered the call to stand as a Democratic candidate for President of the United States, where his campaign won the state of Oklahoma and launched him to national prominence before he returned to the private sector in February 2004. General Clark currently serves in leadership roles with a number of non-profit public service organizations, including VoteVets (Board of Advisors), Democrats Work (National Advisory Board), Project H.E.R.O. (Campaign Chairperson), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Distinguished Senior Adviser), the Center for American Progress (Trustee), the International Crisis Group (Board Member), City Year Little Rock (Board Chair), the United States Institute of Peace (United Nations Task Force Member), and the General Accountability Office (Advisory Board Member). To learn more about General Wesley Clark go to http://securingamerica.com/about.
About The Band of Angels Venture Fund
The Band of Angels Venture Fund, L.P. is a $50M venture fund comprised exclusively of institutional partners including three corporations, two university endowments, and a large pension fund.
About Western Technology Investors
Founded in 1980, Western Technology Investment (WTI) is a leading provider of debt financing to start-up and emerging growth companies. WTI’s recently closed 12th fund builds upon the success of the firm’s 27-year history, which featured portfolio companies such as Juniper Networks, Brocade Communications Systems, Google, Cerent, Infoseek, IDEC Pharmaceuticals, Facebook, IronPort Systems, Volcano Corporation, and many others.
About Ustream.TV
Ustream.TV is a platform for live online interactive video broadcasts that lets people everywhere connect, interact and engage with one another more deeply. Ustream.TV allows anyone with a camera, computer, and Internet connection to broadcast live video to a global audience. Each day, people ustream talk shows, concerts, sporting events, even weddings and graduations. The company was founded by two U.S. military veterans and a technologist who strived to create a way for people of all ages around the globe to connect with each other through the power of live online video broadcasts. Ustream is headquartered in Los Altos, California, and is privately held. For more information, please visit: www.ustream.tv.