ScreenHits Gets Funds for TV Prediction Service

London-based TV streaming site ScreenHits, whose proprietary technology integrates viewer votes with other industry data to predict the potential success of a TV show, has raised around £720k ($1.2m) from the UK government and a group of angel investors.

ScreenHits was founded in 2012 by American entertainment exec Rose Adkins (pictured), who previously held senior roles at TAG, NBC Universal, the Sundance Institute and The Hollywood Reporter. Her firm provides an online marketplace - still in test phase - for matching TV content and for viewers to provide feedback about their favourite shows. Proprietary software then aggregates this information to create a 'hit rate' score, which can be used to predict the potential success of a programme.

New funding comes from the UK government's SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) and EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme), as well as a group of UK investors including banker Rory Fleming, a nephew of James Bond creator Ian. The investment will be used for further product development and audience acquisition.

Adkins states: 'The additional support from the UK government with the creation of tax schemes, such as SEIS and EIS, has made the initial seed round extremely possible in setting up and launching a business in the UK.'

Web site: www.screenhits.tv .