At the National Association of Broadcaster’s conference several weeks ago, all the talk was about how broadcasters can make money selling ads on mobile phones. Mobile media company Azuki Systems is one of several players that offers a software service to help media companies do this and announced this week that it’s received $6 million in additional funding from company executives and venture capital backers Sigma Partners and Kepha Partners.

The Acton, Ma.-based company currently services the mobile version of CBS MoneyWatch and two web-based video producers, WheelsTV and Go211. Its core offering is a mobile video-on-demand platform (MVOD) that lets content producers place full motion ads anywhere in a video where an advertiser’s brand fits the context.

To do this, the company breaks video into what it calls “digital snacks,” basically a gallery of thumbnails viewers have to click, one at a time, to watch each segment on their phone. As viewers click their way through the video, they eventually end up clicking a thumbnail, indistinguishable from the rest, that’s a commercial. If the viewer likes what they see, they can comment on it, share it, and even give it a thumbs up or down. You can see a demo below (starting at about the 1-minute mark).

Formerly known as PeerMeta, Azuki got started just over a year ago with an initial $6.1 million in venture capital also from Sigma Partners and Kepha Partners.

Competitors Transpera and OnSurf offer alternative platforms that deliver seamless, uninterrupted videos that adapt to network conditions. Both companies can force viewers to watch ads before their selected video plays, unlike Azuki, which lets the viewer decide (after it tricks you the first time.) All three are targeting content producers and broadcasters looking to subsidize free programming with ad revenue, and all three claim they’ll work on virtually every type of mobile device.

Another option for content producers is the pay-per-view MVOD model, which allows them to make money by selling content and advertising. MobiTV, the industry leader for mobile television streaming, continues to grow its menu of live pay-per-view events to consumers, allowing broadcasters to sell more or different ad spots in the same time slot. Amazon video-on-demand and Apple’s iTunes Store offer similar solutions for previously broadcast content, but only work on a limited number of devices. To date, content offered by both companies remains relatively commercial-free.

As all of these companies race to be the mobile everything for advertisers, the one that sets the standard will allow advertisers and broadcasters to target ads in real time to mobile users in small localized markets and to millions all over the world.

Read the original article at Venture Beat:
Mobile media startup Azuki pulls in $6M to help broadcasters sell ads