Media execs support GlassBox launch

GlassBox Television will create new broadcast channels and broadband entertainment portals to keep up with the exploding demand for content.

To keep up with the ever-increasing demand for content, Toronto’s GlassBox Television announced yesterday it is planning to revamp its structure with the help of $5 million in new investment, and appointing investor Raja Khanna as its new co-CEO.

The funding will be used to launch new cross-platform broadcast channels and to relaunch GlassBox’s first channel, Bite TV, with a new broadband Internet video portal. ‘Our new structure, together with our extraordinary list of backers, propels us toward our goal of becoming one of the most relevant broadcasters to today’s digital media generation,’ explains Khanna.

Investors in GlassBox include Ted Riley, Alliance Atlantis Communications’ former executive managing director of international television distribution; Gary Slaight, former president/CEO of Standard Broadcasting; Jay Switzer, former CHUM president/CEO; and Stephen Tapp, former president/CEO of XM Radio Canada, who will serve as an advisor for the company’s overall strategy.

Bite TV currently consists of 63% Canadian content. In 2007, it won the International Interactive Emmy Award for Best Interactive Channel. It is available on cable, satellite and IPTV through Rogers Cable, Bell ExpressVu, Cogeco, Videotron, Telus TV, SaskTel and MTS. It is also available on mobile carriers including Rogers, Bell Mobility, Telus, Virgin and Fido, in addition to such broadcasting sites as Joost, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and iTunes.