Viggle, Inc.
Viggle, Inc. operated a publicly traded entertainment marketing and rewards platform whose mobile app used audio recognition to reward users for watching TV and listening to music, serving TV networks, brand advertisers, and nearly 10 million registered consumers before announcing a 2015 pivot to daily fantasy sports.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Viggle, Inc. does
Viggle, Inc. was a publicly traded (NASDAQ: VGGL) entertainment marketing and rewards platform headquartered in New York and incorporated in Delaware, founded in 2010 by Robert F.X. Sillerman (originally as Function(x) Inc.) and renamed Viggle Inc. in June 2012. The company's flagship product, the Viggle mobile app launched in January 2012, used proprietary audio verification (Automated Content Recognition) technology to check members into more than 170 broadcast and cable TV channels and to match songs via a partnership with Gracenote, awarding points redeemable for digital downloads, gift cards, electronics, and entertainment experiences. The platform encompassed the core app plus sub-products (Viggle LIVE real-time trivia, Viggle MUSIC, MYGUY and Viggle Football fantasy games), a Viggle Points API for partner integrations, and the Viggle Access Advertising Platform offering Reach, Promote, and Brand Sync ad products for TV networks and brand advertisers.
Viggle monetized primarily through advertising on its app and the Wetpaint entertainment web property (12M monthly unique visitors), transactional content sales via an M-GO partnership, and B2B digital marketplace licensing through the acquired Choose Digital business. Its portfolio extended into adjacent verticals via Wetpaint (entertainment news for millennial women), NextGuide (TV reminder and Remind-to-DVR platform with 50%+ operator coverage through Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH, and Rovi), and a 44% stake in DraftDay Gaming Group (daily fantasy sports). Reported 9-month FY2015 revenue was $18.68M with FY2015 projected at $25.6M (over 40% YoY growth), supported by a registered user base that grew 116% YoY to nearly 10 million.
In December 2015, Viggle announced the sale of its consumer app and rewards program assets to Perk.com in an all-stock transaction and disclosed plans to rebrand as DraftDay Gaming Group (ticker DDAY) to focus on B2B partnerships in the daily fantasy sports market, retaining Wetpaint, MyGuy, and Choose Digital as the remaining operating assets.
Viggle, Inc. firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Viggle, Inc.
- Legal name
- Viggle Inc.
- Website
- https://viggleinc.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Viggle, Inc. operated a publicly traded entertainment marketing and rewards platform whose mobile app used audio recognition to reward users for watching TV and listening to music, serving TV networks, brand advertisers, and nearly 10 million registered consumers before announcing a 2015 pivot to daily fantasy sports.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Viggle, Inc. industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Entertainment Marketing and Rewards Platform
- NAICS
- Advertising Agencies (54181)
- SIC
- Services-Advertising (7310)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Customer Support, CRM & Retention Tooling (Helpdesk, Churn, Messaging) (MPAHAJAM)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Player Support & Community Operations (Customer Support, Moderation, CRM) (MPAFAKAD)
Keywords
Where Viggle, Inc. is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Viggle, Inc. business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others
Revenue model
- Advertising Revenue: Revenue from brand and network advertising through the Access Advertising Platform, including Reach, Promote, and Brand Sync ad products. Employs display and video ad units across Viggle app and Wetpaint web and mobile sites.
- Entertainment Content Sales: Revenue from selling or renting TV shows, movies, and music through the Viggle rewards catalog and Viggle.com, powered by M-GO partnership.
- B2B Digital Marketplace Licensing: Choose Digital provides white-label and API-based digital marketplace solutions for loyalty and incentive programs, allowing companies to incorporate digital content into their rewards programs.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free consumer app with point-earning and rewards redemption |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels8 records
Marketing channels6 records
Viggle, Inc. product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Viggle operates an entertainment marketing and rewards platform anchored by the Viggle mobile app, which uses proprietary audio verification technology to reward consumers for watching TV shows and discovering music. The company monetizes this consumer base through the Viggle Access Advertising Platform (Reach, Promote, Brand Sync) sold to TV networks and brand advertisers, while also operating Wetpaint (entertainment news), NextGuide (TV reminder and discovery platform with DVR/streaming integrations), Choose Digital (B2B digital marketplace and white-label rewards platform), and a majority stake in DraftDay Gaming Group (daily fantasy sports).
Product overview
Viggle, Inc. operated as an entertainment marketing and rewards platform with a portfolio of products and subsidiaries. The core product is the Viggle App, a mobile rewards platform launched in January 2012 that uses audio verification technology to reward users for watching TV and discovering music. This core app integrates with Viggle LIVE (real-time trivia games), Viggle Football/MYGUY (fantasy sports), and Viggle MUSIC (Gracenote-powered song matching). The platform is supported by subsidiary properties: Wetpaint (entertainment news for millennial women), NextGuide (TV reminder and guide technology with streaming/DVR integrations), and Choose Digital (digital rewards marketplace with API/white-label options). Viggle also held a 44% stake in DraftDay Gaming Group (daily fantasy sports). The company offered the Viggle Points API for partner integrations. In December 2015, Viggle announced plans to sell certain assets to Perk.com and rebrand as DraftDay to focus on the fantasy sports market, retaining Wetpaint, MyGuy, and Choose Digital.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Viggle LIVE: Real-time trivia game companion for TV viewing
- Viggle Football
- MYGUY
- Wetpaint
- NextGuide
- Choose Digital
Products and services
- Viggle App Entertainment marketing and rewards mobile app that uses proprietary audio verification technology to reward members for watching TV shows and discovering music, with interactive games (Viggle LIVE) and fantasy sports (Viggle Football, MYGUY); available on iOS and Android.
- Viggle.com Online rewards destination accessible via web and the Viggle app's rewards section, offering a catalog of top TV shows, movies, music, and other digital entertainment for streaming or download via the M-GO partnership.
- Wetpaint Entertainment and celebrity news destination for millennial women with proprietary social publishing technology, generating celebrity/TV news, gossip, and original video content; 12 million monthly unique visitors and 90 million monthly pageviews.
- NextGuide TV guide platform with universal discovery, search, recommendations, watchlist services, and Remind-to-DVR functionality, integrated with Amazon, Hulu, iTunes, Netflix, and Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH, and Rovi DVR/guide data.
- Choose Digital B2B digital supply chain marketplace offering music, movies, TV, eBooks, and audiobooks for loyalty and incentive programs, with API, CODEPLAY turnkey, and white-label options; first company to bring digital media as point redemption to the worldwide loyalty market.
- Viggle Access Advertising Platform Enterprise advertising platform with three products: Reach (demographic and behavioral targeting), Promote (drive tune-in and engagement), and Brand Sync (TV commercial check-in and social sharing) across Viggle, Wetpaint, and NextGuide properties.
- DraftDay Gaming Group Daily fantasy sports platform and third-largest operator in the industry, offering real-time fantasy sports games with monetary rewards; Viggle holds a 44% majority stake and Sportech holds 35%, with over $30 million in prizes paid out.
Quantifiable outcome
- 46% increase in ad likeability for dual-screen (TV + Viggle) vs TV-only exposure
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Viggle, Inc.
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles5 records
Viggle, Inc. technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration13 records
AI capability3 records
Feature7 records
Viggle, Inc. partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.
- Perk.commajorViggle agreed to sell certain assets including the Viggle applications and rewards program to Perk.com, a cloud-based mobile rewards platform provider based in Austin, Texas. Perk trades on Toronto Stock Exchange under symbol PER.TO. Deal structure includes 1.5 million PER.TO shares, $1 million advance, and potential additional shares based on performance metrics.
- SportechmajorViggle and Sportech teamed up to enter the daily fantasy sports market through DraftDay Gaming Group. Sportech owns 35% of DraftDay Gaming Group. Partnership combines DraftDay's fantasy sports platform with Sportech's regulated gaming industry connections.
- InstantlyminorPartnership to grow mobile audience and enhance measurement of advertising effectiveness. Collaboration between Viggle and Instantly for mobile advertising solutions.
- GracenotecoreGracenote powers Viggle MUSIC, providing audio recognition and music metadata for the music listening rewards feature. Gracenote is a leading provider of music and video recognition technology.
- M-GOcoreM-GO partnership provides video content for Viggle.com and the in-app rewards section, including thousands of recent releases & blockbusters, full seasons of TV shows, and MP3 albums. Users can rent or buy video content and own music.
- DIRECTVmajorDIRECTV subscribers can link their accounts to get additional rewards and exclusive bonus points on Viggle. Shows with additional DIRECTV bonus points are marked with the DIRECTV bonus badge in the 'What's On' section of the Viggle app. Non-DIRECTV subscribers who sign up can receive 500,000 Viggle points.
- DraftDay Gaming GroupcoreViggle is the largest shareholder of DraftDay Gaming Group with a 44% stake. DraftDay is the third-largest operator in the daily fantasy sports industry, offering real-time fantasy sports games with monetary rewards. Has paid out over $30 million in prizes.
- NielsencorePartnership with Nielsen to evaluate advertising effectiveness. Study showed statistically significant lift in all five recall metrics (General Recall, Ad Recall, Message Recall, Likeability, Purchase Intent) for dual-screen exposure vs TV-only.
- Dynamic LogiccorePartnership with Dynamic Logic to evaluate advertising effectiveness for CPG clients across key performance indicators including brand awareness, mobile ad awareness, message association, and purchase intent.
Scale indicators28 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Viggle, Inc. competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- SoundHound: SoundHound provides music and audio recognition technology with a consumer-facing app and B2B voice AI products. Its audio recognition capabilities and consumer engagement model directly parallel Viggle MUSIC and the broader Viggle Points engagement flywheel.
- Prodege (Swagbucks): Prodege operates Swagbucks, one of the largest consumer rewards platforms in the U.S., with a points-for-engagement model spanning surveys, shopping, video, and content that closely mirrors Viggle Points. Both monetize through advertising and partner-driven rewards catalogs.
- Shazam (Apple): Shazam pioneered audio content recognition for music, the same core technology Viggle's audio verification platform uses for TV and music check-ins. Both monetize through engagement-driven advertising and rewards tied to media consumption, making Shazam the closest direct comparable for Viggle's ACR-driven consumer app.
- FanDuel: FanDuel is the #2 U.S. daily fantasy sports operator and a direct competitor to DraftDay Gaming Group. Both compete for the same DFS player pool, prize pools, and partner integrations with sports leagues and media companies.
- Perk.com: Perk.com is a cloud-based mobile rewards platform that acquired Viggle's consumer app and rewards assets in December 2015. Both operate points-for-engagement models across app and web, making Perk both a direct competitor and the strategic acquirer of Viggle's core product line.
- DraftKings: DraftKings is the largest U.S. daily fantasy sports operator and the most direct competitor to DraftDay Gaming Group, in which Viggle holds a 44% stake. Both operate real-money fantasy sports contests with similar monetization mechanics, regulatory exposure, and customer acquisition dynamics.
Broad incumbents
- TiVo (Rovi): TiVo (which acquired Rovi in 2016) operates universal TV discovery, search, recommendations, and DVR reminder services that overlap directly with Viggle's NextGuide platform. Both sell to TV networks and pay-TV operators and compete for second-screen and discovery ad budgets.
- Roku: Roku is a leading connected TV and streaming platform that increasingly bundles discovery, recommendations, advertising, and engagement features that overlap with Viggle's second-screen value proposition. Roku's scale and OS integration position it as a structural threat to independent second-screen plays.
Others
- Gracenote (Nielsen): Gracenote is both a Viggle partner (powers Viggle MUSIC via audio recognition) and a broader industry incumbent in media metadata, ACR, and content recognition. Its underlying technology underpins Viggle's audio verification stack and is itself a competitor for any future ACR licensing opportunity.
Emerging players
- Whip Media: Whip Media provides entertainment data, audience insights, and content performance analytics for streaming and TV, overlapping with Viggle Index and the data-targeting capabilities of the Access Advertising Platform. Both sell verified audience intelligence to TV networks and brands.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Viggle, Inc. social profiles
Digital presenceViggle, Inc. financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Viggle, Inc. leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles17 records
Viggle, Inc. subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries5 records
Viggle, Inc. funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Viggle, Inc. M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A6 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Viggle, Inc.
What does Viggle, Inc. do?
Viggle operates an entertainment marketing and rewards platform anchored by the Viggle mobile app, which uses proprietary audio verification technology to reward consumers for watching TV shows and discovering music. The company monetizes this consumer base through the Viggle Access Advertising Platform (Reach, Promote, Brand Sync) sold to TV networks and brand advertisers, while also operating Wetpaint (entertainment news), NextGuide (TV reminder and discovery platform with DVR/streaming integrations), Choose Digital (B2B digital marketplace and white-label rewards platform), and a majority stake in DraftDay Gaming Group (daily fantasy sports).
Is Viggle, Inc. a public or private company?
Viggle, Inc. is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was Viggle, Inc. founded?
Viggle, Inc. was founded in 2010. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Viggle, Inc. based?
Viggle, Inc. is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Viggle, Inc. make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising Revenue is the primary driver. The others are entertainment Content Sales and B2B Digital Marketplace Licensing.
Who are Viggle, Inc.'s main competitors?
Direct peers on record are SoundHound, Prodege (Swagbucks), Shazam (Apple), FanDuel, Perk.com and DraftKings. Broad incumbents are TiVo (Rovi) and Roku. Gracenote (Nielsen) is listed as an others. Whip Media is listed as an emerging player.
Does Viggle, Inc. have an API?
Yes. Viggle Points API allows partners to integrate point-earning capabilities onto their website or app, enabling users to earn Viggle Points for engaging with partner products or content. The API supports redemption for over 7 million rewards including movies, TV shows, music, electronics, and gift cards. Choose Digital also offers a full-featured API for building digital media reward applications.
What industry is Viggle, Inc. in?
Viggle, Inc.'s product category is Entertainment Marketing and Rewards Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAHAJAM, Customer Support, CRM & Retention Tooling (Helpdesk, Churn, Messaging), with a secondary code of MPAFAKAD, Player Support & Community Operations (Customer Support, Moderation, CRM). Its NAICS code is 54181 and its SIC code is 7310.