With sports viewership on the decline in recent years, cable networks and entertainments companies alike have turned to live content and graphics to keep eyes and minds engaged. One startup pioneering new methods to help networks keep viewers engaged is Seattle-based Tagboard and it recently secured $8 million in funding.
Tagboard is a cloud-based platform that can be used by networks to create real-time graphics during a broadcast. The platform can also pull content from social media channels to incorporate into the broadcast. It can also be used to populate large stadium displays.
Since launching in 2011, the startup has worked with industry giants such as NFL Media, Sinclair Broadcast Group, FOX Sports and CNN, among others.
Most recently Tagboard partnered with NBC Sports to produce interactive graphics such as real-time polls for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
“When we launched Tagboard in 2011, we couldn’t have imagined the full evolution of our platform to where we are today,” Josh Decker, Tagboard founder, said in a statement. “Our original vision was to create a universal way to search, aggregate and share real-time social content. Fast forward to today and we have become the preferred cloud production software for major media organizations — powering the production of stories, sports and news broadcasts around the world.”
The Series A round was co-led by Grayhawk Capital and Next Frontier Capital, and also included participation from Sinclair Broadcast Group and WISE Ventures. Since its launch, Tagboard has raised $14.6 million, according to Crunchbase.
In a statement, Next Frontier Capital founder and managing partner Will Price praised Tagboard’s platform for its ease of use software that, according to the company, only takes an hour to learn.
“Tagboard is delivering that ease of use to media partners, bringing crowd-sourced, real-time content and data-driven graphics together in an intuitive platform built by producers, for producers,” Price said. “… [Tagboard will] execute on their vision with partners to redefine the future of cloud production and storytelling.”
With the new funding, Tagboard will accelerate its growth to keep up with the demand of its 600+ media clients. The company is currently hiring for an engineer and talent acquisition specialist.
