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Never Watch Sports Alone
A Blockchain DApp for Distributed Digital Sports Content
Fabrizio Capobianco
December 1, 2017
TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
Abstract
With over 25 million users worldwide, TOK.tv is the #1 social network in sports, enabling fans to
watch exciting sporting events while interacting with their friends. TOK.tv is the official streaming
provider and chosen social platform for multiple international teams and leagues including Real
Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Italian Serie A, Italian Lega B, Beijing GuoAn,
Shanghai Shenhua, Tianjin Teda, the Chinese Super League, and The Los Angeles Clippers.
TOK.tv’s success has been fueled by the paradigm shift of consumers moving from a world of
centrally controlled content distribution channels, like television and radio, to a world of
user-controlled content absorbed through online streaming.
TOK.tv is now taking advantage of the innate capabilities of blockchain to take its platform to the
next level, and transform digital sports viewing and engagement, by re-platforming on blockchain.
TOK.tv will revolutionize how sports content is sold, distributed, and consumed (or experienced),
while benefiting all parties: users, advertisers, and rights holders. Users gain access to great
sports content, and an expanding ecosystem of third-party add-on apps that make their
experience richer. Advertisers gain higher transparency, ROI and reduced click-fraud, paying only
for actual engagement. Rights holders (leagues and teams) make more money by not paying
middlemen.
TOK.tv is built on the Dispatch Labs protocol, providing the scalability required for mass adoption
by millions of consumers, while reducing time to market for TOK.tv.
TOK.tv is backed by an experienced leadership team of sports fanatics with multiple previous
successful exits, who have built the success of TOK.tv in its current iteration.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
Contents
1. The Landscape 5
1.1 TOK.tv History and Current Capabilities 5
2. What is TOK.tv? 7
2.1 The TOK.tv Decentralized Application 7
2.2 The TOK.tv Token 7
2.2.1 Content Access Models 7
2.2.2 Token Earning and Usage 8
2.3 The Social Platform 8
3. Technical Overview 10
3.1 Utilization of the Dispatch Protocol 10
3.1.1 The Dispatch Artifact Network (DAN) 10
3.2 Content Management 12
3.3 Interaction 12
3.4 Ad Management 12
3.5 Third-party Developer API 13
4. Roadmap 14
4.1 Community-Centric Design 14
5. The Company 15
5.1 TOK.tv Leadership 15
6. Conclusion 18
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
Sports TV is Broken.
The global sports industry is a massive economic entity, with the size of the total US Sports
Industry estimated at $496.1 Billion in 2016, with a global size of $1.3 trillion USD. In the US alone,
companies spent $36.6 billion on sports advertising in 2016 . 1
While fans continue to flock to live sports events, the outlook for traditional TV outlets is not
looking up. Between the high cost for subscription, the lack of engagement opportunities, and
the shift to mobile, sports fans are cord-cutting. Per Nielsen, ESPN lost 13 million subscribers in
the last six years. This is also impacting ad revenues. Per MAGNA U.S. Sports Report (Sept. 2017),
for 2016-2017 season, TV ad revenue is estimated to cover just 66% of media rights for sports.
And unlike digital channels, TV advertisers lack ability to know who’s watching: leaving them with
reduced incentive to remain with traditional TV outlets. Additionally, future markets will continue
to trend towards new methods of content consumption as youth moves further away from
television and more into online streaming, “The viewing figures we see on social media are really,
really massive,” according to Ty Duffy of TheBiglead. “One third of 15 and 16-year-olds don’t
watch linear TV at all.” 2
Things aren’t much better for the rights holders (the clubs and leagues). Media costs are rising:
$18.3 billion in 2016, up 50 percent from 2011 . Despite increased costs, profit ends up with 3
middlemen, leaving rights holders with little gain.
1 “Sports Industry Statistics and Market Size Overview, Business and Industry Statistics”, Plunkett Research,
Ltd.
https://www.plunkettresearch.com/statistics/Industry-Statistics-Sports-Industry-Statistic-and-Market-Size-Ov
erview , December 1, 2017. 2 “The Sports Bubble has Already Burst”, Ty Duffy, TheBigLead. March 10, 2017.
http://thebiglead.com/2017/03/10/the-sports-bubble-has-already-burst/ 3 “PwC Sports Outlook 2016 North America,” PricewaterhouseCoopers.
https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/entertainment-media/publications/sports-outlook-north-america.html
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
1. The Landscape
1.1 TOK.tv History and Current Capabilities
Originally launched as a consumer direct offering in 2012, TOK.tv quickly added Juventus as its
first partner. Focusing initially on the largest soccer clubs in Europe, TOK.tv expanded to include:
● Real Madrid
● Barcelona
● Juventus
● Paris Saint-Germain
● Italy Serie A League
● Italy Serie B League
Expansion into Asia added:
● Beijing GuoAn
● Shanghai Shenhua
● Tianjin TEDA
● Chinese Super League
In 2017, TOK.tv added its first North American team (and not in soccer), the Los Angeles Clippers.
TOK.tv is in negotiations with a number of franchises in a variety of sports, with more NBA
engagement, as well as planned NFL penetration in the near future.
With TOK.tv integrated in their mobile applications, teams and leagues engage and retain their
fans, without giving away their data to social networks. In addition, teams and leagues increase
retention up to 80%, by allowing fans to talk to their friends while they are watching a match.
With its advertising platform, TOK.tv allows brands - mainly team and league sponsors - to
engage the fan directly, through a mix of static and video banners, branded sounds, social selfies,
and unique chatbots (triggering one-to-one conversations with the fan).
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
TOK.tv’s video player allow fans to watch matches on demand based on the time they have.
Instead of being forced to watch the highlights prepared by the broadcasters, fans gain the ability
to select which highlights to consume; to watch the top highlights, or every move of their favorite
player.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
2. What is TOK.tv?
2.1 The TOK.tv Decentralized Application
TOK.tv is now moving to blockchain, leveraging its partnerships, relationships and industry
experience to build the first decentralized sports viewing and engagement application on
blockchain, establishing a new economy. The TOK.tv DApp will be a full functional decentralized
sports viewing, social media engagement, and streaming application, available on all mobile
platforms, which will enjoy the benefits and security of blockchain functionality.
TOK.tv solves the challenges for Sports TV with an application built on a decentralized
marketplace that bypasses the traditional middleman and directly connects fans with rights
holders and advertisers. Rights holders upload content and specify the Content Access Models
and Token Earnings and Usage for their content.
By combining blockchain and smart contracts with Peer-2-Peer (P2P) file sharing, the TOK.tv
application provides a flexible, low-cost, secure method of distributing and consuming content.
The TOK.tv application will also allow the developer community to participate fully in the
ecosystem. Developers will be able to add features to the platform (such as betting or expanded
social features) through the TOK.tv API.
The TOK.tv platform provides a flexible solution for not only wide audience content, but for niche,
long tail content, where the audience may be limited or located in a small region. Additionally,
content-quality based monetization can be easily implemented by properly slicing quality tiers
(e.g. HDr, HD, UHD).
2.2 The TOK.tv Token
The TOK.tv application leverages the TOK token, a cryptocurrency used by users to pay for
content and advertisers to purchase television slots. TOK.tv tokens will have an established
fiat-currency value via public exchanges, allowing end-users to purchase digital services and
goods, such as team branded merchandise, paying for content access, or engage with other fans
(such as betting against friends on the outcome of a game using TOK tokens).
2.2.1 Content Access Models
Video streams are transacted via one of three Content Access Models:
1. PPV: Paid by users with a subscription or pay-per-view (PPV) model
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
2. Advertiser Enabled: Paid for by advertisers, provided that advertising data is not subject
to potential fraud and well targeted
3. Hybrid: Users accept a certain amount of advertising in return for a discounted price on
the content
2.2.2 Token Earning and Usage
Users can spend or obtain tokens, by taking an active part/role in the TOK.tv user community. For
example, users can earn tokens by:
● Actively selecting and proposing additional content to be placed on the platform, thus
promoting adoption and be rewarded based on actual paid usage
● Performing certain tasks during content watching such as voting, sharing with friends who
then become users, social engagements and shares, etc.
● Providing a specific feedback on the piece of content consumed
● Monitoring the overall quality of the streams and providing feedback
● Engaging in surveys and other desired engagement content from advertisers or research
groups
● Farming - by hosting content in the system
Users can spend tokens also by voting on live television content, a fraud exposed process which
becomes streamlined by the use of a distributed system. By adopting a television voting system
based on our token technology, voting authentication and certification is assured by design.
Double voting (if not allowed by the voting rules) can also be avoided by design, thus enhancing
and guaranteeing the value and authenticity of the outcome. Voting paid by the end user can
also be used as an additional revenue source by content producers.
Users can spend tokens to interact with live television content. For example, during a live musical
performance by a popular band, users can use their tokens to request their favourite songs. After
an important football match, users can use their tokens to have interviewers ask their favourite
players pressing questions. These interactions with content will also support advertising as it will
provide live information on user participation and preferences. These interactions will benefit
from the use of token based technology, and creates a new monetization opportunity for not only
businesses, but charity programs as well.
2.3 The Social Platform
TOK.tv features an integrated social button and social platform, which is a major benefit of the
service over traditional consumption models (television, radio) which do not allow user
interaction. Social features not only provide value to content consumers, but value to the rights
owners and providers as they increase retention and engagement of fans.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
The new TOK.tv will include all of the social features from legacy TOK.tv, with additional
functionality added as a result of blockchain. The integration of the TOK Token will allow users to
not only engage socially, but to transfer value and earn benefits for those social engagements.
For example advertisers can pay users with tokens for shares on social media, while users can
earn tokens for supporting their favorite teams or share advertiser messaging.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
3. Technical Overview TOK.tv is a Decentralized application built upon the Dispatch Labs blockchain protocol. TOK.tv is
an evolution of Legacy TOK.tv, which is the current application in usage by 25 million users
globally. Legacy TOK.tv will be migrated to the new, blockchain-enabled TOK.tv as the network
grows.
3.1 Utilization of the Dispatch Protocol
TOK.tv is built upon the existing Dispatch Labs blockchain. The Dispatch blockchain is a shared
ledger that all nodes in the system have a copy of. The Dispatch network is a composition of new
and established protocols being used in some of the most widely adopted distributed systems
today. Consensus is established via the Delegated Proof-of-Stake (DPOS) algorithm used by
Bitshares , Steemit , and EOS . The Dispatch Virtual Machine (DVM) is based on the Ethereum 4 5 6
Virtual Machine . Artifacts and nodes are tracked using a Kademlia distributed hash table (DHT) 7
similar to Storj and IPFS . All these pieces work together with off-chain operability protocols 8 9
developed by Dispatch Labs to create a system with more expansive DApp functionality than any
before it, making it the optimal network for DApps like the new TOK.tv. Below is a high level
diagram of the Dispatch infrastructure.
3.1.1 The Dispatch Artifact Network (DAN)
TOK.tv will utilize the Dispatch Artifact Network’s secure off-chain storage capabilities to allow
streaming, sharing, and dissemination of advertising content. The DAN allows the Dispatch
blockchain to grow linearly while the data-pool grows exponentially, in the case of a DApp like
TOK.tv this functionality is key, as users will be able to enjoy streaming content and data access
without needing large amounts of space to store chain operations.
The Dispatch infrastructure is based heavily on the storage, transmission, and manipulation of
off-chain artifacts (any piece of programmable data, aka a streaming file, user selfie, or interactive
advertisement). The blockchain distributes information about the artifacts without sharing the
artifacts themselves. The Dispatch Artifact Network (DAN) encompases the interactions between
nodes involving off-chain artifact storage and transmission. Downloaders find the nearest farmer
4 https://bitshares.org/technology/delegatedproofofstakeconsensus/ 5 https://steemit.com/dpos/@dantheman/dposconsensusalgorithmthismissingwhitepaper 6 https://github.com/EOSIO/Documentation/blob/master/TechnicalWhitePaper.md 7 https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/WhitePaper 8 https://storj.io/storj.pdf 9 https://github.com/ipfs/ipfs
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
of an (1) artifact in their own personal (2) Kademlia DHT , and uploaders implement 10
Proof-of-Replication (PoRep) security to stop farmer Sybil attacks . 11
Artifacts within the DAN are automatically sharded and encoded with the best available
encryption. As such, rights holders content is protected not only by top quality encryption, but
additionally by the nature of sharded artifacts. Because files are stored in segmented pieces
across multiple off-chain storage locations, even if one piece of data is successfully decoded the
overall piece of content will still be secure and protected, guaranteeing that monetizable content
can only be accessed by users who have properly paid for or correctly gained access to that
content.
The following is a graphical representation of the Dispatch Artifact Flow:
10 Maymounkov, Petar, and David Mazières. “Kademlia: A PeertoPeer Information System Based on the XOR Metric.” Parallel & Distributed Operating Systems Group, MIT, 7 Mar. 2002.
11 Protocol Labs. “Filecoin: A Decentralized Storage Network.” 14 Aug. 2017.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
3.2 Content Management
TOK.tv is at its core a content management system. Where initially only sports team and leagues
partners of TOK.tv will have access to publish new content, eventually the platform will be open
to any rights holder who wants to share their content. Through the Dispatch smart contracts,
content can be published, shared, and monetized for mass consumption by viewers around the
world. Content is hosted in the Dispatch Artifact Network, and revenue is programmatically split
and distributed to the rights holder’s wallets. TOK.tv’s digital rights management capabilities will
allow for rights holders with full control over their content, including a) how revenue will be
distributed (ex. split between multiple rights holders), b) what payment for is accepted for the
content (ex. pay-per-view or subscription), c) how many tokens are required to access the
content, d) when content will be available for viewing, and when it will expire.
User content can be managed from within the TOK application. New content can be published
from any Dispatch node (or mobile light client). All content purchases and royalty payments
happen with TOK tokens.
3.3 Interaction
End users interact with the TOK platform through the TOK.tv mobile application. There users can
browse content, make purchases, and share their favorite content. Users can interact with each
other through the social platform defined below. To service users who don’t want to pay for the
content, interactions with advertisers will be an optional way for users to earn TOK tokens. Those
tokens can then be exchanged for the content itself.
TOK will provide a core set of social features that will be universally available throughout the
platform. These features include social sharing, gamification and messaging between fans, clubs
and advertisers -- both at a micro-level within a specific content item (such as a game) or at a
macro-level (across the platform).
3.4 Ad Management
For rights owners and consumers, advertising plays an important role in the TOK platform.
Advertising provides a powerful revenue source for the rights holders. Through the transparent
qualities of the Dispatch blockchain, advertisers can get additional insight to their audience's
preferences and viewing habits, allowing for more powerful targeting and higher conversions.
For customers who have become accustomed to receiving all their content for free, the TOK Ad
Management platform provides an alternative to traditional pay-per-view models. The user can
watch ads that are relevant to them and view the content for free. Ads live on the DAN as free
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
content, but the content behind it requires either (1) paying for the content or (2) the prerequisite
advertisements have been witnessed.
3.5 Third-party Developer API
TOK.tv features a third-party developer API allowing developers to create new applications which
can interact with the TOK.tv application to unlock a host of new features. Possible use-cases for
third-party applications include:
● Additional social interactions/integration with new social features and networks
● Gambling apps or applications that otherwise gamify token usage as tied to the sports
content itself
● Rewards platforms for engagement or user predictions
● Fantasy-game softwares (fantasy soccer, fantasy football, etc).
The Developer API will provide an easy to use set of integration tools and user-friendly
interactions to add new functionality and benefits for users, advertisers and rights holders. Third
party applications may be decentralized applications utilizing blockchain and the Dispatch
network or can be totally independent centralized apps.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
4. Roadmap
H1 2018 Infrastructure for the core TOK.tv functionality
Launch beta version of platform, tied in to current application experience: Wallet
and Content Purchase
Public Token Generation Event
H2 2018 Content Management Module, including Digital Rights Management
Interaction Module: App, Video Player, Messaging
H1 2019 Ad Management
Interaction Module: Social, Gamification
H2 2019 Third-party Ecosystem and App-store
Interaction Module: Live Streaming
4.1 Community-Centric Design
Development roadmap will be adjusted on user feedback and market analysis. Planned updates
will be added to the whitepaper and announced ahead of time, allowing for user and investor
feedback to be incorporated into the development process.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
5. The Company
TOK.tv is a Delaware C-Corp headquartered in Silicon Valley, California with a wholly owned
subsidiary in China (谈观(上海)信息技术有限公司 / Tok.tv (Shanghai) Information Technology
Co. Ltd.) and in Italy (TOK.tv Srl).
TOK.tv has previously raised $6.7M in Venture Capital from Angel Capital Management, Heyi
Capital, Opea, Techstars Ventures, TEEC, Social Starts, XG Ventures, Jet Ventures and individual
investors.
In addition to its San Francisco headquarters, TOK.tv has offices in Shanghai China, London UK,
Mumbai India, and Milan Italy.
5.1 TOK.tv Leadership
Fabrizio Capobianco
Chief Executive Officer
A serial entrepreneur, Fabrizio founded in
1994 the first Web Company in Italy,
Internet Graffiti. He moved to Silicon
Valley in 1999, joining Tibco and then
Reuters. In 2002, he started Funambol
and made it the #1 open source project in
wireless. He raised over $30M from US
Venture Capitalists to create the leading
personal cloud solution for mobile
operators. He still serves as Chairman
and President of Funambol.
Fabrizio has a Ph.D. in Computer Science
and is a Knight of the Italian Republic.
Jeff Slack
Executive Vice President
Jeff Slack joined TOK.tv from IMG, where
he was Senior Vice President, Global
Football. He has more than two decades of
experience in athlete management, sports
investments and content creation and
distribution. While at IMG, Jeff ran the
global football business practice.
Previously, he established and managed
the European operations for the
Wasserman Media Group. He joined
Wasserman after four years serving as CEO
of FC Internazionale, also known as Inter
Milan.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
Paul Lin Chen
General Manager, China
Paul is a recognized expert in mobile
advertising and gaming. Born in Taiwan
and raised in the USA, Paul started his
career at T-Mobile. In 1998 he became VP
BD of Performance Designed Products,
then in 2007 he moved to Hasbro, still in
the video games business. In 2011 he
moved to Shanghai, to become GM China
for Rovio, maker of Angry Birds. In 2014,
he became CEO of Beintoo APAC.
Matt McGraw
Blockchain Strategy
Matt is an entrepreneur & CEO with
expertise in quickly scaling successful
businesses. After leading and shepherding
a versatile range of tech companies, Matt’s
current focus is on technologies at scale,
that disrupt hierarchies and disseminate
control of secure information to data users.
Simone Giacomelli
Blockchain Partnerships
Zane Witherspoon
Blockchain Architecture
Simone has, for over 3 years, been
leading teams that provide next
Zane is an experienced blockchain
architect, and distributed systems
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
generation blockchain solutions for both
the private and public sectors. Passionate
and diligent about exploring relational
economies and Decentralized
Autonomous Organizations, he conducts
research in novel cryptocurrency models,
ICOs and incentive mechanisms that
empower cooperation and value creation.
specialist. He is firmly entrenched as an
expert in the blockchain world, sitting on
the board of advisors for four
California-based blockchain companies,
and an author in the space. His ceaseless
pursuit to build something at the bleeding
edge of what is currently possible makes
Zane an invaluable addition to the TOK.tv
team.
Jake Vartanian
Blockchain Tokenomics
Marco Santori
Legal
Jake Vartanian is the founder of
Cryptodex, a contributor to Blockchain
News, and an advocate of
decentralization since early 2011. He has
worked with high profile startups
including Bancor, TokenCard and
SingularDTV.
Marco Santori leads Cooley’s fintech
practice, and is an authority in the law of
blockchain technology. He is an author of
the SAFT Project whitepaper, the Legal
Ambassador for the Delaware Blockchain
Initiative, and an advisor to the International
Monetary Fund. Called “The Dean of Digital
Currency Lawyers” by an American Banker
journalist, Marco focuses his practice on
structuring innovative products into existing
regulations, as well as crafting new
regulations where required.
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TOK.tv: A Blockchain DApp For Distributed Digital Sports Content
6. Conclusion
TOK.tv is a successful, functional product with tens of millions of users, which is actively
generating revenue. By utilizing the benefits of blockchain, TOK.tv can move from a successful
product to the foundational technology which will fundamentally change the way sports content
is distributed and consumed.
The TOK.tv decentralized application will use blockchain to benefit all parts of the content
consumption and dissemination ecosystem. Users will have more engaging access to the content
they want to watch, with included social interaction elements. Advertisers will have better value
for their money, while simultaneously increasing engagement and reducing fraud. RIghts holders
will more effectively monetize their content while cutting out middlemen.
Because TOK.tv will be built upon existing systems, the time to deployment will be minimal, and
will enjoy the benefits of Dispatch Labs architecture and off-chain storage solutions. The new
TOK.tv is different from many blockchain DApps. Instead of a new application, it is the transition
of an existing successful application to a new superior architecture with added functionality and a
more robust, decentralized economic model.
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