Streamspot: Company usage grows 1,000% since 2014
CINCINNATI (Joe Webb) - A local start up is about to wrap up a banner year that saw its business grow to ten times the size it was in 2014.
Streamspot is a tech company that helps churches, synagogues and temples get their message to the faithful via their phones, tablets and desktop computers. The sound of a church bell is a call for the faithful to gather but for parishioners like the men and women of St. Ann's in Groesbeck, that no longer means they have to gather in pews at the church. Thanks to the local startup Streamspot, every mass, wedding, funeral and baptism at St. Ann's is available live on all their devices and archived if they want to watch it later.
Co-founder of Streamspot, Brian Duerring, said, "For churches that have no staff or media resources, it's really been a blessing to be able to do streaming without any staff or dedicated resources."
Streamspot is the brainchild of native West-Siders Brian and Laura Duerring. Streamspot installs a camera and encoder in a church like St. Ann's and does all the work. Churches can monitor how many people watch and where they are watching. It gets the message to those who can't come get it.
St. Ann's Church Pastor, Fr. Tom McCarthy, said, "For the ministry what's great is for people who are home-bound. They can't get to mass every day because they're sick."
Father McCarthy is a native of Baltimore. Now his parents watch him celebrate mass every day. Streamspot has clients in all 50 states and 10 foreign countries. They stream masses from 20 percent of the churches in the archdiocese of Cincinnati. The largest number of their clients are synagogues and temples.
Crossroads is their largest local client with up to a 1,000 viewers every Sunday. Central Synagogue in New York has up to 10,000 viewers every week. It's not just church services.
Co-founder Laura said, "We've just been overwhelmed with how far it's reached and how it brings in people who have cousins or relatives who can't come in for a baptism or a Christmas mass who want to tune in and feel a part of that community even though they are across the country or across the world."
An infusion of venture capital last year has helped Streamspot hire staff and grow the business. In October and November 650,000 people tuned in to 5,000 broadcasts. Proof that if you build it, they will come even if they can't gather.
Streamspot also provides remote camera operators for events. That allows them to pan, tilt or zoom the cameras so they can do things like follow the bride down the aisle during a wedding, or zoom into a child during a baptism.
CLICK HERE to check out the company's website.
Follow us on Twitter @Local12 and LIKE us on Facebook for updates!
Download the Local 12 News App on iTunes and Google Play
