The player: Edward Boddington, CEO of Harvest Media, the United Kingdom-based company that owns United States mobile media company Telescope.

The play: Telescope manages mobile phone, landline and Web voting for some of television’s highest-profile competition shows, including Fox’s “American Idol,” NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” and MTV’s “America’s Best Dance Crew.” With the growth in mobile video in recent months, Telescope will be adding rich-media capabilities to also make money on mobile video services. Telescope generates income via fees and revenue shares based on the size of the campaigns it manages; it will add advertising-based revenue sharing in the future. Telescope has managed more than 3 billion votes cast via landlines and mobile phones for “American Idol.”

The pitch: Telescope distinguishes itself from competitors with its analysis, metrics and data, Mr. Boddington said. “We have very accurate counting and analysis and high-volume capabilities in a short amount of time,” he said.

In the mix: The company competes with a broad rage of mobile technology firms, including LiveVote, MobileStorm, GreyCell, Pollimath and others.

The money guys: Investors in holding company Harvest Media include executive management and venture firm Fleming Family & Partners, the literary rights-holder to the James Bond franchise. Harvest has been profitable since it started in 2003.

Pros: The company’s technology works across services and enables mobile voting, Web voting and voice-mail voting.

Cons: “You have to manage the business for the current time and remain profitable and also invest for the future,” Mr. Boddington said.

Background: Mr. Boddington earned a business degree from Nottingham University. Before starting Harvest, he worked at an independent marketing company and in interactive media. He lives in England with his wife, three children and his pet Dachshunds.

Posted on February 22, 2009 8:00 PM | Permalink

Telescope Media Contact: Adriana Krause, (424) 270-2917, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it