Big news for Newcastle tech startup Screach, which has raised $2.5m to really push its ScreachTV system around the UK.
The funding has come from VC firm Northstar Ventures, Hotspur Capital Partners and other strategic investors to accelerate the rollout of ScreachTV,a plug-and-play system that allows pubs and venues to create a personalised TV channel that can show special offers, social media posts from Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram, news, sport and entertainment headlines, as well as games that punters can interact with using their smartphones (such as pub quizzes).
Northstar’s funding has come from the £25m Finance for Business North East Accelerator Fund, part of the £125m Finance for Business North East Fund backed by the European Investment Bank and the European Regional Development Fund.
The idea is that pubs these days love their screens when the football’s on, but often don’t know what to do with them when there’s no live sport. Often they’ll be switched off, or showing a random TV show or news channels on mute. ScreachTV allows pubs to broadcast a constant stream of venue-specific information, whether that’s the discounts on beer available at the pub, the latest news headlines or tweets and photos relating to the pub, the city or the local football team.
Screach was set up by Wigan-born Paul Rawlings to offer companies and brands the chance to interact with digital screens using their smartphones. Paul developed the company at the first Difference Engine accelerator in Middlesbrough, and remained in Newcastle to run the business from a base in Hoults Yard (although it also has a presence in New York). Over the last couple of years, it’s worked with organisations ranging from Bauer Media to Cadbury’s and Newcastle United.
ScreachTV is the company’s big push right now. It’s currently in more than 100 pubs and bars across the UK, with some in New York.
Paul said:
“All sorts of people go to pubs to eat, drink and socialise, so a screen with the right sort of content can attract a huge amount of attention.
“When pubs are showing live sport, it’s a real draw. But when there’s nothing on, they either switch the TVs off or show content that isn’t really that relevant, such as a random channel on mute. That’s not the best experience for the customer.
“ScreachTV gives them a local, relevant and interactive channel that they can tailor to their pub and their audience, allowing them to display offers, adverts and messages, entertain customers, and ultimately keep them in the venue longer.”
Here’s more on the deal from The Next Web. Go to Screach.tv for more information.
Disclaimer: Betarocket’s John Hill is a blogger for Screach