OpenVault said it has secured "significant funding" from three small operators -- Service Electric Cablevision, Service Electric Cable TV & Communications and Blue Ridge Communications -- to help it move into the next stage of its development. Terms were not disclosed.

“The Service Electric companies and Blue Ridge share a vision of the connected future and their collaborative approach to working with technology companies is helping to spur innovation that is driving the broadband industry forward,” OpenVault co-founder and CEO  Mark Trudeau said in a press release. “Their investment will bring a new dimension to our long-term partnership, and we’re excited to use the funds to expand our reach and accelerate our growth.”

OpenVault, based in Hoboken, N.J., helps broadband suppliers optimize and monetize their networks. In a press release, the company said the investment from the three cable operators, who are also customers, will help it accelerate growth domestically and internationally, most notably in Europe and Latin America.

“As broadband has increased in prominence, companies such as OpenVault have played essential roles in supporting our delivery of high-quality services,” Blue Ridge Communications and Pencor Services president David Masenheimer said in a press release. “By making a direct investment in OpenVault, we can be financial catalysts to their growth, while providing strategic guidance that can help them align product technology development with industry needs.”

The Federal Communications Commission said it has approved a first tranche of 62 telehealth applications for $41.98 million in its second round of funding for COVID-19 telehealth services.

In round one, the FCC allocated $200 million of CARES Act funding for 539 applications from 47 states, as well as the District of Columbia. 

The money goes to healthcare providers, but then some of it is passed along to broadband service providers. That‘s because the funds can be used to pay for telecommunications and information services, as well as connected devices, so consumer technology companies also benefit from the program.

Also Read: FCC Approves Telehealth Funding, Round 2

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, access to health care has proven to be not only a national issue, but also a local issue, and it is imperative that every community is given the tools to access this care as safely and effectively as possible," said acting FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel.

She said the FCC factored in the hardest-hit and lowest-income areas, including tribal areas and previously unfunded states and territories, in deciding how to distribute the initial funds in the $249 million telehealth program mandated by Congress.

The next tranche will go to the next highest-scoring areas, in terms of need, until at least $150 million has been committed.

fuboTV, the sports-focused OTT TV service, said it has raised a $75 million “D” round that includes AMC Networks, along with existing investors 21st Century Fox, Luminari Capital, Northzone, Sky and the former Scripps Networks Interactive (now part of Discovery).  

The latest round, raised less than a year after it locked in a $55 million “C” round, takes fuboTV’s total funding past the $150 million mark.  

REALTED: fuboTV Scores $55M ‘C’ Round 

fuboTV said it will use the funds to invest in and grow its engineering and product teams, add new features, boost marketing activity, and secure new content for offerings in the U.S. and abroad.  

The company noted that it has grown its staff by 60% in the past ten months, and plans to double its office space and staff by the end of 2017. It also has plans to open a second headquarters in a state and location to be announced later that will complement its 17,000 square foot HQ in midtown New York.  

The fresh funds also arrive as fuboTV continues to face off against a growing mix of well-heeled OTT TV competitors that include DirecTV Now, Sony’s PlayStation Vue, Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV as well as Philo, which launched a national entertainment-focused service in November. T-Mobile is also developing a new OTT TV service in the wake of its $325 million acquisition of Layer3 TV, as is a startup called Vidgo.  

RELATED: Virtual MVPDs Growing ‘Like Weeds’: Analyst  

fuboTV crossed 100,000 subscribers last September, and says it has seen double-digit growth since. It has distribution deals with Consolidated Communications and the National Cable Television Cooperative.  

With respect to live locals, fuboTV says its Fox coverage spans 87% of U.S. homes, and 72% for NBC and 68% for CBS.  

“This latest capital raise underlines a seismic shift in viewing behavior as consumers migrate from traditional platforms to streaming television,” David Gandler, fuboTV’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “The pay TV space is experiencing a renaissance, and the company will use this investment to continue to drive technological advancement in video quality and latency, machine learning and predictive analytics to deliver a best-in-class experience.”   

Conviva, an over-the-top TV data business, said it raised $40 million in strategic funding from new and existing investors.

Participating in the round of funding were existing investors Time Warner Investments, New Enterprise Associates and Foundation Capital, plus a new investor, Future Fund.

Conviva has software sensors that are deployed on 2.5 billion devices globally and measure more than 1 billion streaming minutes per day of premium video for HBO, Sky Turner and other content companies.

The company said it saw 80% growth in viewing minutes in 2016 and expects 150% growth in 2017.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

As predicted, Donald Trump's new "America First" budget, which is being released at 7 a.m. Thursday (March 16), will zero out funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the non-profit company that provides most of a half billion dollars in federal money for noncommercial media.

The confirmation came from Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney, who outlined the president's budget in a conference call with reporters, calling it a "hard-power" budget that required cutting "soft-power" programs.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer had circulated a Washington Post story this week about the budget that mentioned the expectation CPB's funding would be cut; the administration would be unlikely to pass around a story that conflicted with its plans.

Asked whether CPB's $421 million in funding would be eliminated, Mulvaney shot back, "Yes," then finessed his answer a bit, but essentially only on a technicality.

"No, I'm, sorry, I was too quick with that," Mulvaney said. "We propose ending funding, but technically what you will see is its elimination, but you'll see an amount of money in the budget necessary for us to unwind our involvement in CPB, but it will see a zero next to it; the policy is, we're ending federal involvement with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting."

The budget is only a blueprint, and Congress must approve its line items. Congress created the CPB in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which declared it to be in the public interest.

While Republicans, and even some Democrats, have in the past balked at the funding and pushed for cuts, more recently CPB has had support from both sides for full funding.

CPB is forward-funded as a means of keeping politics out of it, and in June of last year, the company was fully funded through 2019. But it now looks like it will be backward-defunded. Mulvaney said 2017 funding would be for "winding down" the government's involvement and that the CPB would be zeroed out in 2018.

Mulvaney did not talk specifically about CPB beyond saying it was being defunded, but said that to increase the budgets for Defense and Homeland Security, and to provide billions for "The Wall" -- including $1.5 billion in 2017 and more than $2 billion in 2018 -- the administration would make dollar-for-dollar cuts to programs he said were indefensible.

CPB is the largest single source of funding for public radio, television and related online and mobile services, according to its website. It provides about 15% of the budgets for noncommercial media organizations, with the rest coming from corporate underwriters and contributions from viewers.

More than 70% of CPB’s federal funding goes directly to local public media stations, the CPB's website notes, at an average annual cost per American of $1.35.

Among other takeaways from the call with Mulvaney was a 28% reduction in the State Department's budget, much of that from foreign aid programs.

Mulvaney also said the budget would include cuts in infrastructure spending, which would appear not to square with Trump’s plan to spend on infrastructure upgrades, but Mulvaney added that money was being moved out of less efficient programs and parked to be used in more efficient ones.

Video streaming and advanced advertising specialist Roku is in talks to raise at least $200 million in a new round of funding at a valuation of about $1.5 billion, Fortune reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.

Fortune said Roku received a term sheet this week and that the round will be led by U.S.-based investors not named, but cited a source indicating that they won’t be “standard Silicon Valley firms.”

Roku declined to comment on the report.

RELATED: Roku Raises $45.5M More

Roku has already raised about $210 million, according to CrunchBase. Its investors include Fidelity, 21st Century Fox, Netflix, Menlo Ventures, Hearst, Sky, Menlo Ventures, and Viacom, among others.

RELATED: Roku, Comcast Kick Off Xfinity TV App Beta Trial

Roku, the subject of IPO rumors in recent years, is a top provider of streaming platforms via its array of standalone devices that compete with OTT products from  Google, Apple and Amazon. Roku has complemented that that with platform integrations on smart TVs from companies such as Element Electronics, Hitachi America, Haier America, Sharp, Insignia (Best Buy’s in-house brand), and Hisense, as well as a Roku Powered strategy focused on partnerships with MVPDs and other service providers.

Mediamorph, a provider of cloud-based rights management systems for programmers and video distributors, has closed a $21 million “C” round of funding led by Advance Vixeid Partners and by senior advisors to Lee Equity Partners that include former NBCU chairman and CEO Bob Wright and former USA Networks president and COO Barry Baker.

Mediamorph, which has raised a total of $43 million, said it will use the funding to expand its global reach and enhance its platform, which helps partners manage the financials and rights components of  video and integrate that info into the supply and distribution chain.

Along with the new funding, Mediamorph also announced the appointment of several new board members, including Nomi Bergman, president of Advance/Newhouse Partnership and the former president of Bright House Networks; Bob Greene, managing director, Liberty Global; and Baker.

Rob Gardos, Mediamorph’s CEO, said the C-round was oversubscribed, and that most of the company’s growth is coming from MVPDs and OTT players in the U.S. and abroad. 

Mediamoroph’s platform brings together rights and financial data in a way that helps its partners make informed decisions on how to track and further monetization their media assets.

“There’s so much content coming from different places and the rights are getting more and more complex,” Gardos said.

Recently added Mediamorph customers include Hulu, Millicom, Norway’s Altibox, and Discovery Networks. Other Mediamorph clients include Liberty Global, A&E Networks, AMC Networks, BBC Worldwide, CenturyLink, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Starz Media, Turner Networks, Warner Bros, and Viacom, among others.

Founded in 2007, Mediamorph is private and doesn’t disclose specific financials, including whether it's profitable, but Gardos said company revenues have grown 100% year-over-year.

“We’re experiencing a massive inflection in Media & Entertainment, where rapid change has made it critical for companies to deploy high-performance systems in order to survive and grow,” Bergman said, in a statement. “Mediamorph is a vital technology platform in this ecosystem and I am excited to provide additional industry insight and expertise.”

Kaltura said it has secured $50 million in “pre-IPO” funding from Goldman Sachs’ Private Captial Investing Group as the over-the-top video specialist looks to expand its global footprint.

Kaltura, which has raised about $110 million and was founded in 2006, also announced that Holger Staude, a VP in Goldman Sachs’ Private Capital Investing group, will be joining Kaltura’s board of directors.  Goldman Sachs’s PCI unit is focused on providing “junior capital” to growth and middle-market companies throughout North America, with investments of about $20 million to $150 million per transaction.

Kaltura, which provides a mix of OTT publishing and advertising platforms, counts customers such as Viacom, Vodafone, HBO, ABC, Turner, Warner Bros., and Paramount. It also provides enterprise video systems for partners that include Intel, SAP, Nestle, and Target.

“Video is booming,” Kaltura chairman and CEO Ron Yekutiel, said in a statement. “It is the favorite data type for communication, collaboration, teaching & learning, marketing, and entertainment….We are excited to be working with Goldman Sachs as we continue our journey to videofy companies and organizations all around the world." 

UPDATE: Kaltura hasn't announced when it will IPO, but it's clearly in the plan. 

“The company appreciates the support and recognition by Goldman Sachs. We plan to leverage this new capital to expand our global reach, and continue to grow our business in the media, telco, enterprise and education markets. This will strengthen our position as the leading video technology company, delivering everything video to the market. Kaltura has strong SAAS metrics and given a more favorable market environment, is well positioned for a successful lPO," company CFO Dr. Naama Halevi said. 

Roku has raised another $45.5 million, per an SEC document dated January 28. 

The filing, spotted by Variety, follows a $25 million round in the fall of 2014 that took Roku’s funding total beyond the $150 million mark.

Roku has been the subject of IPO rumors in recent years, but the new funding could mean it’s avoiding that path as it seeks new businesses and growth opportunities.

In tandem with the Roku 4 launch last fall, the company said it had 7.5 million active Roku user accounts worldwide, and that its platform streamed 3 billion hours in 2014, and had eclipsed 2.5 billion hours streamed during the first half of 2015.

Earlier this month, Roku said TV-set maker TCL will introduce 4K-capable Roku TV models in the U.S. this spring, and that it had sold 1 million Roku-powered TVs by the end of 2015.

Roku is also pushing into the integrated TV segment with partners that include LG Electronics (for a limited release during the 2015 holiday buying season), Haier America, Sharp, Hisense and Insignia, which is Best Buy’s in-house brand.  Roku also plans to  expand distribution of Roku TVs to Mexico in the first half of 2016, complementing its Roku TV business in the U.S. and Canada.

Roku is also trying to amp up MVPD partnerships with Roku Powered, a licensing program in which pay TV partners use Roku hardware alongside customized interfaces. Most of Roku’s success in this area has occured overseas, though it has also been working with Time Warner Cable and with Charter Communications on skinny bundle video offerings that use Roku devices.

YouNow, a live social network that “connects audiences and broadcasters in real time,” said it has secured $15 million round of funding led by current backers Venrock and Oren Zeev. Comcast Ventures also joined the round as a new investor, said YouNow, which has raised about $26 million, according to CrunchBase.

YouNow, which competes in some ways with Periscope and Meercat, claims to have 100 million user sessions a month and handles more than 50,000 hours of new live-video content created every day.  On average, the daily user of Younow spends 51 minutes per day on the platform, the company said.

YouNow, which has developed apps for iOS and  Android, has a Go Live option that lets users broadcast video to their audiences, along with a discovery tool to find YouTube and Vine stars.  Audiences are rewarded through in-app “virtual good purchases.”

"The addition of Comcast Ventures to our family of backers underscores our success in building a real-time social network that fulfills the needs of a younger, digitally savvy generation that is eager to participate in media and not just consume it,” YouNow founder and CEO  Adi Sideman, said in a statement.

"YouNow has struck a chord with young audiences who crave and are increasingly willing to pay for real-time video-based interactivity,” added Sam Landman, managing director at Comcast Ventures. “YouNow's virtual goods economy is enabling the most dedicated creators to build rewarding careers on the social network, based entirely on their talents. We're excited to support the team and their vision.”

Liberty Global has made a strategic investment in Guavus, a San Mateo-based Big Data specialist, but did not disclose the amount.

Liberty Global’s backing (it’s also a Guavus customer) comes almost three months after Guavus announced it had raised $30 million of fresh funds from new and existing investors.  Guavus, founded in 2006, has raised about $129 million, according to CrunchBase.

Guavus, which has been getting more aggressive in cable, said its Reflex platform lets cable operators to gain a holistic, cohesive view of network state and business context in real-time.

"Guavus offers one of the industry's most innovative operational intelligence platforms and their suite of big data analytics applications are well deployed across service providers worldwide,” Ankur Prakash, vice president, Liberty Global Ventures, said in a statement. “We are pleased to be backing this exciting business as it embarks on the next stage of its development and couldn't be more positive about the company's prospects and its ability to execute."

"We are thrilled to have Liberty Global not just as a customer, but also as an investor and strategic partner,” added Anukool Lakhina, founder and CEO of Guavus. “With this partnership we will be able to accelerate our innovation and thought leadership in real time streaming analytics and continue to create industry firsts for enterprises and service providers globally."

Mike LaJoie, the former executive vice president and chief technology officer of Time Warner Cable, was appointed chairman of Guavus in January.

Qwilt, a startup that specializes in “transparent” caching systems, said it has landed a $25 million “D” round, expanding its total funding to about $65 million.

Tel Aviv/New York-based VC Disrupt-ive led the round with a $16 million investment, with help from Cisco Investments and Eric Schmidt’s Innovation Endeavors. Existing investors Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Marker LLC and Redpoint Ventures also contributed to the round.

Qwilt said it will use the fresh funds from this “strategic” round of funding to build scale, speed up its go-to-market strategy, enhance its flagship product, Qwilt Video Fabric, and to expand support to tier 1 operators worldwide.

Rather than serving as a specialized edge cache, such as the one Netflix uses for its Open Connect private CDN program, Qwilt’s is “transparent” (though the company styles its system as “open”) in the sense that it monitors and caches online video from multiple sources to help partners save on network transport costs.

That sort of set up will continue to come in handy as video continues to represent more and more of the composition of the Internet’s traffic. Cisco Systems forecasted in its recent Video Networking Index that video will represent 80% of all IP traffic globally by 2019.

Among MSOs, Mediacom Communications has rolled out Qwilt’s transparent video caching platform to boost the quality of online video delivered via its broadband network.  Qwilt, which said sales grew 400% year-over-year in 2014, also works with mobile carriers, telcos and university networks.

Qwilt is also a member of the recently launched Streaming Video Alliance, a group that is focused on open caching standards and streaming video infrastructure and counts Comcast, Charter, Liberty Global, EPIX among its founding members.

Video processing and cloud video services specialist Elemental Technologies said it has raised a $14.5 million “D” round led by Telstra, Australia’s largest telco, with participation from Sky, which tossed in a $4 million equity investment.

Existing investors General Catalyst Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Voyager Capital also participated in the round.

Elemental said it will use the funds to accelerate worldwide growth and expand its use of software-defined video products. The investments by Telstra and Sky also give Portland, Ore.-based Elemental solid business ties to two more large service providers and media companies.

Elemental said Telstra, which has begun to deploy 4G over new 700MHz spectrum, will  use the vendor’s full product line, with a “specific focus” on Elemental Delta, the vendor’s recently launched video delivery platform that supports a range of services and apps, including catch-up and start-over TV and network DVRs. 

“Our investment in Elemental will enable Telstra to create value for our global media customers,” said Mark Sherman, Telstra’s global enterprise and services managing director, ventures, said in a statement.

“For Sky, Elemental solutions support its current multiscreen OTT Sky Go properties, and as SDV architectures continue to mature, we believe there will be additional opportunities to collaborate in the future,” Sam Blackman, Elemental’s CEO, noted in this blog post about the funding round.

Sky has been splashing cash on a growing number of OTT and IP video-facing companies, including its recent investment in Pluto.TV and Roku, a leading providers of streaming media players. U.K.-based Sky operates three OTT services: Sky Go, NOW TV and Sky Store.

“In addition to an ongoing commercial relationship, Sky will have strategic access to the Elemental leadership team, which will help inform Sky’s long-term understanding and insight into future OTT developments,” Sky said.

Elemental, founded in 2006, already counts customers such as HBO, the BBC, ESPN, ABC News, CBS Interactive, Comcast and DirecTV, which has tapped Elemental’s file-based transcoding platform for the satellite TV giant’s new 4K offering.

Elemental  has raised $42.1 million so far, according to CrunchBase. 

Quantenna Communications, the maker of next-gen WiFi chips, went to the well again, pulling out $22 million in a round led by Centerview Capital Technology, Vivint and NTT Group.

All major existing investors, including Sequoia Capital, DAG Ventures, Rusnano, Sigma Partner and Venrock, also participated. Quanntenna, founded in 2006, has raised $166 million so far, according to CrunchBase data.

Tied to the new round, Ned Hooper, an exec late of Cisco Systems and now a founding partner of Centerview; and Harold Hughes, late of Intel and Rambus, were named to the Quantenna board.

Quantenna said it will use the funds to invest more in technology and customer-facing activities. Its customers include AT&T, DirecTV, Orange and Telefonica. Qualcomm and Broadcom are among Quantenna's competitors. 

Quantenna has been focusing on 802.11ac, sometimes called Gigabit WiFi, which will help to shore up in-home wireless backbones and other types of WiFi access points. Earlier this year, it claimed its “wave 2” 802.11ac chip hit usable throughputs of 1.3 Gbps,with Physical Layer throughputs of 1.7 Gbps.