(12 July 2006 8:00 pm)

MUMBAI: MobiTV Inc., a global player in television and digital radio services for cellular, WiFi and broadband-enabled devices, has announced the successful first close of the company's Series C financing. Oak Investment Partners' Bandel Carano will join MobiTV's board of directors as part of this investment.

The $70 million investment led by Oak Investment Partners will fuel the Company's expansion in response to the overwhelming demand for its mobile television and radio service across international markets, states an official release.

MobiTV's products already reach more than one million paying subscribers across the globe who can now watch top news, sports, entertainment and music videos on their mobile devices. The Company recently expanded its product line to deliver the MobiTV service to personal computers across WiFi and other broadband networks and announced the commercial availability of the MobiTV service in Latin America, adds the release.

"We have taken tremendous strides to develop this rapidly emerging market across three continents over the last few years," says MobiTV CEO & chairman Phillip Alvelda. "These rather substantial funds will help us capitalize on MobiTV's head start and position as the premiere brand in mobile television. We plan to use these funds to provide even more television content on more devices, across more networks, and in more countries around the world."

MobiTV, founded in 1999 and headquartered in Emeryville, California, first launched its mobile TV service in November of 2003. Since that time, MobiTV has expanded to serve major domestic carriers including Sprint, Cingular and Alltel and has also grown internationally. The MobiTV service reaches mobile subscribers through more than 20 carriers around the globe including Bell Canada, Rogers and TELUS in Canada, 3 and Orange in the UK, and America Movil in Latin America.