The UK social TV company Zeebox announced today it hired Jason Forbes from Time Warner Cable Media where he was senior VP of strategy, products and marketing. Forbes will be tasked with heading up Zeebox’s US operations as the company prepares to launch its social TV app in the states.
“We’re delighted to have Jason join the Zeebox team,” said Ernesto Schmitt, CEO of Zeebox. “He brings significant domain expertise and a broad set of relationships in the US broadcasting and media industries. As EVP USA, Jason will apply his operational experience and strategic insight to supporting our launch in the US market.”
Zeebox says it’s working on the final touches with its launch partnerships “with key industry players,” and it’s planning on launching the second-screen app in the US in the second quarter of this year. Zeebox has been growing fast in the UK, enjoying a surge of downloads thanks to its new relationship with SkyTV.
Of course, the US market is much more competitive than the UK for second screen apps, with over a dozen players and counting — not to mention the MSOs efforts, to boot. But there’s still a chance that Zeebox could gain a foothold despite the comptition. Just look at recent data from Viggle, which launched in January 26th in the US: the company say it’s already reached 250,000 registered users and surpassed 7 million check-ins. For Zeebox, a SkyTV-like partnership in the US could give it a big boost — stay tuned.