MeOnTV

Abstract

Schalk Stalman is one of the four co-founders of Triple IT, a web hosting and web development firm with 25 employees in Alkmaar. In 2006 and 2007, Triple IT was heavily involved in the development of an innovative mobile Internet application called MeOnTV that enables mobile video calls to be broadcast live on television, thereby turning mobile users into cameramen. Schalk came up with the idea himself, and he and his team have been busy developing this application in collaboration with two larger firms from the telecommunications industry and the television industry, Ericsson and Endemol. With the development phase for version MeOnTV 1.0 coming to an end, important decisions had to be made about how to turn the informal product development partnership into a formal agreement regarding the worldwide commercialization of MeOnTV. Several options were discussed, such as each partner obtaining a one-third share of a joint venture or a fifty-fifty joint venture between Ericsson and Endemol, whereby Triple IT would serve as a preferred supplier. Although collaboration between the three firms during the product development phase was smooth and pleasant, negotiations about the business model became a lengthy affair. Ericsson and Endemol are both listed companies, which requires them to take necessary legal precautions. Triple IT, however, being a small firm, had fewer constraints. From Schalk’s point of view, it was most important to commercialize the innovation – MeOnTV – quickly so they could secure a sizable market share.