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| Samba TV | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original authors | David Harrison, Omar Zennadi |
| Developer | Free Stream Media Corp. |
| Initial release | GPL |
| Written in | Python |
| Operating system | Windows,Mac OS X andLinux |
| Available in | English |
| License | GPL |
| Website | samba |
Samba TV is a television technology company that offers real-time insights and audience analytics. It was founded in 2008 by early employees ofBitTorrent, including Samba TV's current chief executive officer,Ashwin Navin.[1] The company develops software for televisions,set-top boxes, smart phones and tablets to enableinteractive television throughpersonalization. Through its portfolio of applications and TV platform technologies, Samba TV is built directly into the TV or set-top box and will recognize onscreen content—live or time-shifted—and make relevant information available to users at their request.
The service is available only after a user activates it on a device, and is supported by interest-based advertising delivered on the television or on devices within the household. ThroughAPIs andSDKs formobile applicationsoftware developers, Samba TV is usable on asecond screen or the TV itself. Samba TV has a global addressable footprint of 46 million devices globally, 28 million of which are in the United States.[2] Its devices are distributed in roughly 118 countries.[3]
The company has raised over $40 million in capital fromDisney,Time Warner,August Capital,Interpublic Group,Liberty Global,Stagwell,A+E Networks as well as individuals likeMark Cuban, Kun Gao, founder ofCrunchyroll, James Hong, founder ofHot or Not, Charles Huang, founder ofGuitar Hero, angel investor Tom McInerney, and others.[4][5]
| Company type | VC funded |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media,broadcast,television,digital cinema,Internet,Automatic Content Recognition,Social television,second screen,Smart TV,application software,Interactive TV |
| Founded | San Francisco, CA (incorporated 2008) |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Ashwin Navin,chief executive officer |
| Website | Samba.tv |
The company was founded as Flingo in 2008, to help media companies likeShowtime,Fox,A+E Networks,TMZ,Revision3,PBS andCBS develop apps on Smart TVs that synchronize with linearbroadcast programming andnon-linear media.[6] In January 2012, Samba TV launched one-click sharing on social networks likeFacebook andTwitter from the television.[7] In January 2013, the company announced further developments and features and named its interactive TV platform Samba.[8]
In September 2013, the company adopted the Samba TV name.[9]
In October 2017, The Walt Disney Company became a strategic investor in Samba TV to better understand TV viewership and engagement with advertising.[10][11]
In December 2018, Samba TV acquired Screen6,[12] a firm offering real-time, cross-device identity resolutions.
In August 2019, Samba TV acquired Wove,[13] to help direct-to-consumer brands TV ad targeting.
In August 2019, Samba TV acquired,Axwave, an internationalsoftware development company.
In January 2023, Samba TVdivested its media business to programmatic platform, MiQ.
In October 2024, Samba TVacquired Semasio, the global leader of contextual web intelligence, for undisclosed terms.
In 2016, Samba TV partnered with MediaMath.[14]
In 2017, Samba TV partnered with video ad serving platformSpotX[15] and media/advertising research companyKantar.[16]
In 2019, Samba TV partnered withTwitter to help measure the social network's effectiveness in driving tune-in.[17] That same year, Samba TV also partnered with video streaming aggregator Reelgood.[18]
In 2020, Samba TV partnered with global programmatic media partner MiQ,[19] global technology company The Trade Desk,[20] media measurement and analytics company Comscore,[21] as well asAmazon Web Services.[22] andTiVo.[23] That same year, Samba TV also partnered with point-of-sale data provider Catalina and paper product manufacturerGeorgia-Pacific to measure cross-channel media spend.[24]
In 2021, Samba TV partnered with online advertising software companyPubmatic,[25] as well as television measurement and analytics company 605.[26]
In 2024, Samba TV partnered withSnap Inc.[27] to help brands further understand the value of advertising on Snapchat. Also in 2024, Samba TVpartnered withNOVA Entertainment;IRIS.TV;QMS;Madhive selected Samba TV as its ACR partner;FreeWheel selected Samba TV as its preferredACR partner; expanded itspartnership with Havas; partnered withStackAdapt; madedeal with Meta; andCaptify integrated Samba TV technology.
In 2025, Samba TVpartnered with Attain to expand incremental measurement andOzTam on aPOC (a first initiative for Australia).
In July 2021, Samba TV launched its global Real-time TV Viewership Dashboard, an interactive TV analytics dashboard featuring geographic and demographic analysis of viewership in real-time across the world, starting with four of the largest media markets: the U.S., U.K., Germany, and Australia.[28]
Also in 2021, Samba TV announced its proprietary identifier, SambaID,[29] as part of its Samba TV Identity solution, giving marketers, publishers, and platforms the ability to transact with each other using a variety of different currencies against which to optimize. Programmatic research technology firm Lucid later announced its use of SambaID for clients likeDigitas andWavemaker.[30]
In 2024, Samba TV unveiled itspolitical audiences platform geared toward political advertisers in the2024 Presidential Election and surrounding candidate and legislative races.
Samba TV's technology is integrated into 24 Smart TV brands globally. These brands are listed on their website asPhilips,Sony,Toshiba,beko,Magnavox,TCL,Grundig,Sanyo,AOC, Seiki,Element,Sharp,Westinghouse,Vestel,Panasonic,Hitachi,Finlux,Telefunken, Digihome,JVC, Luxor, Techwood, and Regal.[1]
Samba TV tracks what appears on the users' TV by reading pixels and utilizing this data for personalized recommendations on the TV or mobile apps connected to the television. This capability extends to streaming programs and video games played on the television.[31]
In January 2021, Samba TV introduced Picture Perfect – anartificial intelligence (AI) technology that optimizes picture quality in real time for gaming, live sports, and movies. Designed to be embedded within the TV, Picture Perfect will recognize and optimize the quality of the content playing on the screen in real time, with or without an internet connection.[32]
In 2021, Samba TV was chosen byAdweek readers as "Best in Measurement Solutions" during the 2021 Adweek Readers' Choice: Best of Tech Partner Awards.[33]
Samba TV was incorporated as Free Stream Media Corp. in 2008, a company founded byAshwin Navin, David Harrison, Alvir Navin, Omar Zennadi and Todd Johnson.[34] According to the public source code repository, Flingo's open source client was written by David Harrison and Omar Zennadi inPython, and isfree software licensed under theGPL.[35]
In February 2012, Flingo announced a $7 millionSeries A round investment from August Capital.[36] In May 2012, Flingo added additional investors, closing at $8 million, including entrepreneurMark Cuban and Gary Lauder. Cuban discovered Flingo at CES 2012 when he saw a crowd in the Flingo booth watching a demonstration of its SyncApps technology. The funding helped Flingo expand its presence with smart TV and device manufacturers, building on its existing partnerships.[37]
In April 2015, Interpublic Group announced a strategic investment in Samba TV. Subsequently, Samba TV announced more strategic investors totaling $30 million in aSeries B round coming fromLiberty Global,Disney,WarnerMedia,Interpublic Group, MDC Partners,A+E Networks and Union Grove Venture Partners.[4][5]
