Funding Flexibility
With cable video moving outside TV’s traditional box, several new funds headed by old cable guys want to become investors. One is the entertainment/media focus group formed by investment collective New York Angels, which provides up to $1 million to ventures. The other is Spark Capital, a Boston-based VC agency with $260 million to dole out. Cable deals are a top priority, and one is imminent, says Scott Kurnit, the former Viacom and News Corp. exec now with the Angels. "We want to empower companies who want to use digital and Internet protocol TV through cable, as well as through the Internet and cell phones," he says. Spark general partner and former TNT president Dennis Miller (above) anticipates at least one funding commitment by month’s end, as the firm eyes groundbreaking cable and multimedia ventures in VOD, video search, wireless and user-generated content. —Simon Applebaum