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University Internet TV service Tivli raises $6 million to expand

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Tivli, a Boston start-up that provides an Internet TV service for university students, has closed a $6.3 million round of funding to fuel its expansion to more campuses.

Venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates led the Series A financing round, joined by Felicis Ventures and Rho Ventures, Tivli said Wednesday.

Tivli gives students access to live and on-demand television through Internet-connected devices, including smartphones and tablets.

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This comes as cord-cutting, in which people choose to give up traditional TV subscriptions, becomes an increasing concern for pay-TV companies.

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As research has repeatedly shown, many cord-cutters pick up the no-TV habit when they move away to college, resorting to services like Netflix and Hulu, as well as piracy.

The service was created at Harvard University by Nick Krasney and Ho Tran. Along with Harvard, Tivli is available to students at Yale, Texas A&M University, the University of Washington, Wesleyan University and others.

“Students tell us that Tivli makes their on-campus living experience even better,” said Tivli Chief Executive Christopher Thorpe, in a statement. “We’re proud to have earned the support of our world-class investors and look forward to working with them as we build a great company.”

Strategic investors involved in the funding round included CBC New Media Group of Raleigh, N.C., Time Warner’s HBO, Mark Cuban’s Radical Investments and Hollywood talent agency WME.

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Cord-cutting learned in college, as is stealing Netflix and HBO Go

San Francisco cord-cutters are adept at piracy, want Netflix cheap

Follow on Twitter: @rfaughnder

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

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