Fuji Startup Ventures established as JPY1.5B fund for integrating apps and technology into TV programs

Japan’s Fuji TV has setup a 1.5 billion yen fund to invest in startups that develop applications and services that have potential in being integrated into TV programming.

Nikkei reports that the new venture capital fund (about US$17 million) aims to create business synergies between these startups and the many subsidiaries and businesses that Fuji TV runs, including radio stations, the recording business and mail-order shopping.

Television is not exactly a new frontier for startups, with brands, developers and established companies trying to find the right marriage between traditional TV and Internet and mobile-based offerings. Recently, U.S.-based social-TV startup Kwarter raised US$4 million to develop second-screen applications for brands and businesses, for instance. In the Asia Pacific region, though, partnerships look more toward content development and distribution of existing programming through IP-based technologies, such as streaming media and mobile devices.

Fuji TV’s setting up of a fund is timely, with today’s younger generations eschewing televiewing in favor of reading and watching content on mobile devices. Television viewership is already on the decline says a comScore study, as consumers now favor on-demand programming and mobile content.

via Tech in Asia