SAN MATEO, CA – FreeWheel, the video technology company serving enterprise-class entertainment companies, announced today that accomplished inventor and entrepreneur Blake Krikorian has joined the company’s board of directors.
Krikorian brings to FreeWheel more than 20 years of experience building world-class companies that have fundamentally changed the way people engage with TV and digital media. Most recently, he served as co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Sling Media Inc., makers of the Emmy® award-winning Slingbox™, which was acquired by EchoStar Holding Corporation in October 2007.
“For more than two decades, Blake has been at the forefront of technologies that have created new and exciting ways for people to experience digital media,” said Doug Knopper, co-founder and co-CEO of FreeWheel. “He fully understands the challenges and opportunities that face the largest entertainment companies in the world as it pertains to IPTV. His breadth of experience in the space adds another strategic dimension to our board.”
“FreeWheel’s technology and services have become the de facto standard in managing the economics of content, driving digital revenue decisions for broadcast networks such as ABC, NBC, and FOX as well as 21 of the top 25 US cable networks, like ESPN, Discovery, MTV, CNN, and many others,” said Krikorian. “I’m looking forward to helping FreeWheel expand and deepen its partnerships with the leading content and media distribution players around the world. This tidal wave of live, on-demand and simulcast programming on digital platforms provides an opportunity for these companies to not only maintain, but also significantly grow their business. What excites me is that this is no longer a future hope. The opportunity is here and now.”
In addition to Freewheel, Krikorian serves on the Amazon.com, Inc. Board of Directors and is an active angel investor and coach to digital media and technology startup companies.
His contributions have had substantial impact across media and technology industries, for which he was given a Lifetime Technology Leadership award by Broadcasting & Cable and was named a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum.
Along with Krikorian, FreeWheel’s current board members are: Jon Heller, Co-Founder/Co-CEO, FreeWheel; Doug Knopper, Co-Founder/Co-CEO, FreeWheel; Roger Lee, Battery Ventures; Satya Patel, Former VP of Product Management, Twitter; and Ashmeet Sidana, Foundation Capital.
About FreeWheel
FreeWheel manages the economics of content for the enterprise-class world of entertainment, offering technical infrastructure for revenue rights management and business operations, wrapped in advisory services. Founded and led by a team of executives from the world’s leading technology companies, FreeWheel’s solutions have already armed companies like AOL, ESPN, FOX, NBCUniversal, Sky, Turner, and VEVO with the technology and services they need to profitably scale their professional content across devices and revenue models. For more information, visit www.freewheel.tv. Follow the company @FreeWheel.
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