VCs Dial Up MyDTV with $7M

You want to know where Phil Mickelson wore his new green jacket last night? You love golf? You really, really love golf?

MyDTV knows what you’re going through. The Burlingame, Calif.-based startup wants to deliver all things golf to you, all the time – at least when you’re in front of the TV.

The company has developed a search engine that crawls through network and cable programming to identify the programming you might want to see, then alerts you to what’s on and when with a message on your TV screen or your laptop.

Only 600 Southern California Time Warner cable subscribers have tested the technology thus far, but the service may become more widespread thanks to new venture funding.

Last week, the company announced the close of a $7 million Series A deal led by San Francisco-based WaldenVC’s Larry Marcus, a general partner there. Other investors in the round included Edmond De Rothschild Venture Capital Management of Israel and Japan’s Defta Partners.

It’s capital the four-year old company has earmarked for growth. MyDTV plans to bring the search engine to more cable and satellite TV operators and make the technology work with programming guides already available on the set top. The company also is working with content producers such as Court TV and Tech TV to index their programming.

For advertisers, the software serves as a data-mining tool. It tracks viewers’ TV habits by demographic and Zip code. And for the viewer, no more tennis if all you really want is golf.

“Navigation is the key to TV’s success now,” says Bow Rodgers, MyDTV’s CEO. “There’s just so much content on. It’s numbing. Giving the viewer choice and control is key.”