Revenue Beyond the SlingBox

I’m a big Slingbox fan but have been puzzled about the company’s business model beyond selling $200 hardware to consumers. So, I figured I’d address this issue while meeting with Greg Wilkes, Sling Media’s VP of sales, earlier today in Toronto. But before I could dive into the business model question, Wilkes spent 15 minutes talking about the new Slingboxes in the market or about to launched. Depending on your needs and budget, Sling plans to have a Slingbox to meet your needs, which is pretty impressive. (If you aren’t familiar with a Slingbox, it’s a device that you attach to your TV and/or satellite-cable box that lets you watch your TV using a computer while in another room or away from home. If you spend $100 on cable or satellite service, buying a $200 Slingbox to get more from that package is a no-brainer.)

So what about the business model? How does a company, which has received $53-million in venture capital, drive sales beyond hardware? The answer is syndication, licensing and advertising deals with content makers - a strategic initiative led by the company’s Sling Catcher service (it’s in beta) that lets people easily capture video clips using their Slingbox, and then share them with friends/family, or the Web community. While the financial details have yet to be worked out, Sling figures it can make money by providing content makers with ways to market and sell their programs, while Sling gets to generate some advertising revenue. Sling Catcher is also a sales and marketing tool because, in theory, people who are sent Sling Catcher video clips could be inspired to buy a Slingbox. Wilkes said Sling is also looking to generate revenue from software sales by putting the Sling player in a variety of devices such as laptops.

I also got a chance to meet Dave Zatz, who writes the Zatz Not Funny blog, which focuses on connected home and digital lifestyle. Zatz started a new gig as Sling’s manager of online communications - proving you never know where blogging will take you. Zatz said Sling plans to launch a corporate blog fairly soon that will feature Sling products, as well as tips, tools and news about digital media. It will be interesting to see how Zatz balances Sling’s blog with his own blog.

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Written by Mark Evans on February 23rd, 2007 with no comments.
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