Telescope
Telescope is a real-time audience engagement platform that powers voting, prediction games, sweepstakes, and second-screen experiences for broadcasters, sports leagues, and brands during live events and broadcasts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2004
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Telescope does
Telescope is a Los Angeles-based provider of real-time audience engagement solutions for live events, broadcasts, and second-screen experiences, founded in 2002 and operating from offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, London, and Barcelona. The company serves broadcasters, sports leagues, brands, and agencies by running real-time voting, prediction games, sweepstakes, user-generated content campaigns, and CTV/second-screen activations during high-profile moments such as the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk Contest, CBS Big Brother, MTV VMAs, MotoGP race weekends, and the BRIT Awards. The platform is organized around six service categories — Voting, CTV and Second Screen, Experiential Marketing, Sweepstakes and Contests, Free-To-Play/Prediction Games, and WhatsApp — supported by modular products including Standard Vote, Triple Play, Bracket Vote, Predictor, Bracket, Bingo, Easy Sweeps, Scratcher, Spin to Win, Easy Poll, Passion Meter, Custom Play-Along Hub, Campaign Manager, and Rating.
The underlying technology aggregates participation across online, social, SMS, toll-free, WhatsApp, and native-app channels, delivering verified, real-time results that can be aired on broadcast graphics. Preferred-partner status with Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok, combined with a 2026 cloud-messaging partnership with Infobip, gives the platform deep multi-channel reach. Telescope monetizes through managed campaign services (custom development, real-time moderation, prize fulfillment, compliance, reporting) sold on a project/multi-year basis to enterprise clients, plus a self-service Campaign Manager platform for tiered mid-market access. Named enterprise clients include Disney, NBCUniversal, CBS, Fox, ViacomCBS, MTV, NBA, NASCAR, Dorna Sports (MotoGP), Coca-Cola, Facebook, BBC Studios, Warner Bros., Crunchyroll, and Lifetime, supported by 19+ years of track record, 6 Guinness World Records, 39 Shorty Awards, 4 Clio Awards, and multiple Emmy nominations.
Telescope firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Telescope
- Legal name
- Telescope Digital Inc.
- Website
- https://telescope.tv
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2004
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Telescope is a real-time audience engagement platform that powers voting, prediction games, sweepstakes, and second-screen experiences for broadcasters, sports leagues, and brands during live events and broadcasts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Telescope industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Audience Engagement Software
- NAICS
- Spectator Sports (7112), Media Representatives (541840)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Interactive/Watch-Party & Social Video Streaming Platforms (MPACAAAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Party Games, Activities & Interactive Entertainment (HSACACAJ)
Keywords
Where Telescope is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Telescope business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Managed Campaign Services: Full-service campaign execution including custom development, real-time moderation, prize fulfillment, compliance management, and results reporting. Revenue generated through project-based fees for high-profile live events and broadcasts.
- Platform & Software Licensing: Self-service platform access with Campaign Manager for clients to create and manage their own polls, votes, sweepstakes, and prediction games. Tiered access with different feature sets.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Custom project-based pricing |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Telescope product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Telescope operates a real-time audience engagement and participation platform that delivers voting, free-to-play and prediction games, sweepstakes and contests, experiential marketing activations, CTV and second-screen experiences, and WhatsApp-based fan interactions. The platform is sold as both managed campaign services and a self-service Campaign Manager product to enterprise clients including broadcasters, sports leagues, brands, and agencies.
Product overview
Telescope is a real-time fan engagement and audience participation platform offering a modular suite of engagement mechanics. The core platform is organized around six main service categories: Voting, Free-To-Play & Prediction Games, Sweepstakes & Contests, Experiential Marketing, CTV and Second Screen, and WhatsApp engagement. These are supported by individual product modules including Standard Vote, Triple Play, Bracket Vote, SMS/Text-Messaging, WhatsApp Vote, Predictor, Bracket, Bingo, Easy Sweeps, Scratcher, Spin to Win, UGC, Social Wall, Easy Poll, Passion Meter, Custom Play-Along Hub, Campaign Manager, and Rating. The platform enables brands, broadcasters, and event organizers to deploy voting, prediction games, sweepstakes, and UGC mechanics across TV broadcasts, live events, and digital channels to convert passive audiences into active participants.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Voting Real-time audience voting platform aggregating votes from digital, social, SMS, toll-free, native app, and WhatsApp channels, with verified on-air results; built on 19+ years of voting experience and targeted at broadcasters, sports leagues, and brands running live events.
- Free-To-Play and Prediction Games Interactive prediction and free-to-play games (Predictor, Bracket, Bingo) that turn live broadcasts, sports, and tentpole events into continuous fan participation experiences, including zero-data and zero-party data collection modes.
- Sweepstakes and Contests End-to-end sweepstakes and contest management including Easy Sweeps forms, Scratcher instant-win, Social Sweepstakes, and Spin to Win prize mechanics, with prize fulfillment and jurisdictional compliance, designed for brands, broadcasters, and event organizers.
- Experiential Marketing Custom brand activation and experiential environments including Content to Air, on-site activations, Social Wall displays, and UGC capture tools that turn fans into brand ambassadors at live events and broadcasts.
- CTV and Second Screen Play-along and second-screen fan experiences including Breakout Rooms, Custom Play-Along Hub, Easy Poll, and Passion Meter that amplify engagement beyond the TV screen or event location and persist after broadcast or event.
- WhatsApp Engagement WhatsApp-based fan engagement channel enabling voting, sweepstakes entry, and promotional participation via QR code entry and dynamic chatbot experiences, providing global reach through the world's most popular messaging platform.
Quantifiable outcome
- 87% trivia completion rate in MotoGP Triple Play campaigns
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Telescope
Customer profileNamed customers16 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Telescope technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Telescope partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- InfobipcoreGlobal cloud communications platform partnership for SMS and WhatsApp messaging infrastructure. Telescope leverages Infobip's messaging services to enable millions of viewers to participate in real-time voting and interactive experiences during live televised events including American Idol, Brit Awards, and BAFTA Awards.
- Octagon and Citizens BankminorPartnership to power real-time fan engagement experience at TCS NYC Marathon 2025 - Request the Rhythm activation.
- Dorna Sports (MotoGP)corePartnership to provide digital fan engagement products for the 2024 MotoGP season. Deployment of QR codes and broadcast graphics at race circuits with four products: Scratcher, Easy Poll, Triple Play, and Battle Vote. Generated over 3,000 prizes, 245k+ Battle Vote interactions, and 87% trivia completion rate.
- MTVcoreWhatsApp voting partnership for 2024 VMAs, enabling fans to vote directly through WhatsApp messaging platform.
- Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, TikTokcorePreferred partner status with all major social networks providing unique access to largest social platforms. Enables seamless integration for fan engagement campaigns across social channels.
- Probability, LLCminorElevated partnership to enhance fan engagement capabilities through deeper collaboration.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights7 records
Telescope competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Gleam: Gleam is a viral giveaways and contest platform widely used by marketers for sweepstakes, rewards and email/CRM capture. It is comparable to Telescope's Sweepstakes & Contests and UGC product modules from a mid-market/PLG angle.
- Snipp Interactive: Snipp Interactive offers mobile engagement, receipt-validation, loyalty and promotional campaign solutions for CPG brands and retailers. It overlaps with Telescope's brand-focused campaign work, particularly sweepstakes and prize fulfillment.
- Woobox: Woobox is a self-serve platform for running contests, sweepstakes, polls, giveaways and UGC campaigns across social channels. It overlaps with Telescope's Easy Sweeps, Scratcher, Easy Poll and broader Sweepstakes & Contests suite, typically targeting mid-market brands rather than marquee broadcasters.
- Eko: Eko builds interactive and shoppable video experiences for entertainment brands and broadcasters, enabling viewers to make in-video choices and participate in branded campaigns. It overlaps with Telescope's interactive voting and second-screen engagement offerings.
- ShortStack: ShortStack provides a contest, giveaway and landing-page platform used by brands and agencies to run sweepstakes, polls and UGC campaigns. It competes with Telescope's lower-end self-serve Campaign Manager use cases.
- LiveLike: LiveLike provides second-screen, gamified fan-engagement experiences for live sports and entertainment, including interactive trivia, prediction games and chat. It is the closest direct competitor to Telescope's Free-To-Play and Prediction Games product line, serving the same broadcasters and sports leagues.
Emerging players
- Captiv8: Captiv8 is an influencer marketing platform connecting brands with creators and providing campaign analytics. It overlaps with Telescope's experiential and branded engagement work for agencies, though via creators rather than broadcast events.
- Viggle: Viggle is a TV loyalty and rewards app that rewards users for watching and engaging with television content. It is thematically adjacent to Telescope's second-screen and passive-to-active viewer engagement thesis.
Broad incumbents
- Innovid: Innovid is an independent ad-tech platform for delivering, measuring and personalizing CTV and video advertising across devices. It is a broader incumbent in the interactive TV ecosystem where Telescope's CTV and second-screen products also compete.
- MNTN: MNTN (formerly MNTN) is a connected TV advertising platform focused on performance-driven TV campaigns for SMB and mid-market brands. It represents a broader incumbent in the CTV/second-screen category where Telescope operates.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks7 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Telescope social profiles
Digital presenceTelescope financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Telescope leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Telescope funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Telescope M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Telescope
What does Telescope do?
Telescope operates a real-time audience engagement and participation platform that delivers voting, free-to-play and prediction games, sweepstakes and contests, experiential marketing activations, CTV and second-screen experiences, and WhatsApp-based fan interactions. The platform is sold as both managed campaign services and a self-service Campaign Manager product to enterprise clients including broadcasters, sports leagues, brands, and agencies.
Is Telescope a public or private company?
Telescope is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Telescope founded?
Telescope was founded in 2004. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Telescope based?
Telescope is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
How does Telescope make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Managed Campaign Services are the primary driver. The others are platform & Software Licensing.
Who are Telescope's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Gleam, Snipp Interactive, Woobox, Eko, ShortStack and LiveLike. Emerging players are Captiv8 and Viggle. Broad incumbents are Innovid and MNTN.
Does Telescope have an API?
No public API is recorded for Telescope.
What industry is Telescope in?
Telescope's product category is Audience Engagement Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPACAAAM, Interactive/Watch-Party & Social Video Streaming Platforms, with a secondary code of HSACACAJ, Party Games, Activities & Interactive Entertainment. Its NAICS code is 7112 and its SIC code is 7900.