Nearly three years ago at SXSW, Turner’s Media Camp accelerator launched with an ambitious plan to help startups focused on changing the media world. After investing in and leading 27 companies through its 12-week accelerator program, however, the company is shutting down Media Camp and its associated Emerging Technology team.
In an email sent yesterday (full text below), Media Camp founder Balaji Gopinath announced the close of the accelerator, writing that while its “impact to the media industry and Turner/Time Warner [had] been significant,” it had also faced challenges both internally and externally.
“We have not found the clarity and direction that we needed to continue,” Gopinath wrote.
At a time when the media business seemed to be in flux, Media Camp was formed to connect old and stodgy media brands with new technology that could help them connect with audiences. The accelerator was founded by members of Turner’s West Coast Emerging Technology group who were looking for ways to tap into the nearby startup ecosystem and introduce some of its ideas into the broader media company.
With a stable of networks like TBS, TNT, CNN and Adult Swim as part of the Turner portfolio, the hope was that the folks at Media Camp could make introductions to help get startups their first customers, as well as provide them with valuable feedback about what traditional media companies really wanted and needed from the tech industry.
The team also hoped to extend those introductions to the broader Time Warner family of media businesses. In early 2013 it was announced that Warner Bros. would also run a Media Camp program out of Los Angeles ostensibly to help startups focused more on the film side of the industry to make contacts there. (A source tells me WB will still run its version of the Media Camp program next year.)
Media Camp found a limited amount of success in its three years, however, and it seems getting the tech and media industries to understand each other was harder than it first seemed. Or at least, that was the case within Turner.
It’s probably worth noting that while Media Camp is shutting down, there are still a few other media-focused accelerators out there. Knight Foundation-backed (but independently run) Matter.VC is still operating in San Francisco, and just closed applications for what will be its fourth group of startups.
Meanwhile, Disney has also dipped its toes into the accelerator market by partnering with TechStars earlier this year to launch its own program for media startups. Similar to Media Camp, it aimed to connect startups with executives within its portfolio of media brands.
Both of those programs are newer, but we’ll see if either are any more successful than Media Camp in a few years. In the meantime, here’s the full text of Gopinath’s email:
I hope this email finds everyone having a great holiday season. Regrettably, I am writing to inform you that after much debate and discussion, the San Francisco Media Camp team and I are leaving Turner Broadcasting in December 2014. Turner has decided to shut down its San Francisco Media Camp office and its Emerging Technology staff on the west coast.
A little over three years ago, the Emerging Technology team at Turner Broadcasting set out to build a better way to become part of the evolving startup media and advertising ecosystem and find unique ways for big media companies to invest, mentor, and embrace the change we saw coming to our world. Media Camp was born through this thinking and as an idea in my head even before I joined Turner four years ago.
We began this journey because we were frustrated with an approach that we believed, was dated and fragmented. When it came to innovation and being more agile, big media was moving slow and the consumer’s needs were not being met in a world that was changing at a dramatic pace. With this, we launched Media Camp at SXSW in 2012. Media Camp grew to include Media Camp LA run by our sister company Warner Brothers. Together we envisioned ways to change and influence how big media companies go to market around television, film, studios and live broadcasting with respect to news and sports programming. Our Emerging Technology team harnessed this engagement further by launching the first video apps on Google Glass and working with many of the wearable devices and technologies early on including Samsung Gear. We also filed multiple patents around smart televisions, mobile monetization, and advertising, all the while, learning from, influencing, and working with startup organizations and nascent technologies.
As we continued our journey, we received overwhelming support from many of you, Turner brands, and executives throughout the Time Warner universe and peer media landscape. We also found that we hit the right mix with the startup ecosystem as applications grew over 200% year over year. Through this, we were fortunate enough to invest, work with and learn from over 27 amazing startups over three years with several companies being acquired, and others continuing to thrive and grow.
As much as we garnered support and had some great wins, we also encountered significant challenges from both internal and external forces. While our impact to the media industry and Turner/Time Warner have been significant, in the final analysis, we have not found the clarity and direction that we needed to continue. We have been fortunate to be part of an incredible journey that has influenced our media partners as well as many other corporates that have launched similar endeavors. The team and I stay steadfast in our personal commitments to the mission we started to change the face of media and we hope that our colleagues at Turner and Warner Brothers continue to change the world and push forward.
We are also thankful for all the support and encouragement that allowed us to build something special that will continue to flourish.
Thank you for being part of this journey and I hope to cross paths with you all in the future as the next chapter unfolds.
With sincerest thanks and gratitude,
Balaji Gopinath
Founder, Media Camp
Featured Image: Time Warner Blog
from TechCrunch http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/wF5Aev5t1fE/
via IFTTT
Сообщения
0 коммент.:
Отправить комментарий