Developer(s) | Kumumedia Technologies, Inc. |
---|---|
Initial release | January 9, 2018 |
Stable release | 8.35.0 / December 14, 2022 |
Operating system | iOS, Android |
Size | 177.4 MB (iOS) 62 MB (Android) |
Available in | English, Taglish |
Type | Social networking Video sharing E-commerce |
License | Proprietary software with Terms of Use |
Website | www |
Kumu (stylized in lowercase) is a Filipino video sharing and e-commerce social networking service owned and developed by Kumumedia Technologies, Inc. The social media platform is used to livestream curated programs created by app users and partner brands and as an e-commerce platform for app users and partner brands who want to sell their merchandise online. [1] It was founded in 2017 and launched on Android and iOS devices in February 2018. Kumu caters mainly to the Philippine market and the Filipino diaspora. [2] In October 2020, the app topped the download charts of both the Apple App Store and Google Play in the free apps category. [3] [4] The app aims to become a "super app" that combines the functionalities of other apps like YouTube, TikTok, Shopee, Instagram and Facebook Messenger into one. [5] [6] Kumu is considering adding offline events to its platform, such as fan meetings with popular livestreamers and a convention inspired by Comic-Con called Kumu-Con, and expand beyond livestreaming to e-commerce and payments. [7]
Kumu was developed in 2017 then launched in February 2018 by Roland Ros, Rexy Dorado, Andrew Pineda, and Clare Ros, who are Filipino entrepreneurs that were based in the United States and have worked in technology and social enterprises. [1] [3] It was initially developed as a messaging app with a livestreaming feature targeted toward millennial and Generation Z Filipino users. [6] [4] [8] The app's name was derived from the Filipino word "kamusta" (or kumusta), meaning "How are you?", which is a common greeting among Filipinos. [1]
Kumu's livestreaming feature proved to be more popular among its users and the developers eventually shifted their focus towards this functionality and introduced other features. [6] [4] Registered users can also earn through brand sponsorships in their livestreams, similar to revenues that YouTube users can earn from ads on their videos. Kumu content creators can earn at least ₱20,000 (or about US$400) through livestreaming. With over 25,000 livestream broadcasts each day, Kumu has 3 million registered users each clocking an hour of daily average usage. [9]
Aside from user created livestreams, Kumu also livestreams its own curated shows, mainly game shows such as Game Ka Na Ba? and Quiz Mo Ko. It has also partnered with various celebrities and brands to promote products through livestreaming. These include former actor and Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, journalist Ces Drilon, TV host Boy Abunda, TV executive and actress Charo Santos, Sydney Crespo, Ruby Ibarra, Mica Javier, Apple Chiu, Brent Manalo, as well as Star Magic Philippines, Cornerstone Entertainment Group, and MOR Philippines. [5]
In December 2018, Kumu announced that it had secured around $1.2 million in seed funding, led by Summit Media, Foxmont Capital Partners, and Two Culture Capital. [10]
With the sudden popularity of podcasting amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kumu added a podcasting feature in February 2020 to attract more users and content creators to use to app. The feature allows audio streamers to accommodate guests and co-hosts in ‘public’ and ‘friends only’ options; as well as ‘mute’, ‘kick’ or ‘block’ listeners. [11] [12] [13]
In April 2020, Kumu announced that it had secured around $5 million in Series A funding. Openspace Ventures, an early investor in Indonesian unicorn start-up Gojek, along with Kickstart Ventures, ABS-CBN, Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, and returning investors Summit Media and Foxmont Capital Partners all participated in the funding round. [14] [15] [9]
In October 2020, Kumu partnered with Philippine media conglomerate ABS-CBN to launch the ninth season of reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother: Connect amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The app hosted online auditions for the reality show, which attracted over 100,000 new users, and it also livestreamed activities inside the Big Brother House during the show's run. [16] [17]
In June 2021, Kumu announced that it had secured an undisclosed amount in Series B funding. Gentree Fund, Endeavor Catalyst Fund, alongside returning investors Summit Media, Kickstart Ventures, Foxmont Capital Partners, and Gobi-Core Philippine Fund all participated in the funding round. [18]
In July 2021, Kumu announced a partnership with Wattpad to bring their stories into the Kumu app via live streaming, audio streaming, and social commerce. [19]
In August 2021, Kumu partnered again with ABS-CBN to launch the tenth season of reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 . The tenth season will feature adult, teen, and celebrity editions. [20]
In October 2021, Kumu announced that it had secured an undisclosed amount in Series C funding, led by General Atlantic with the participation of Openspace Ventures and SIG. This brought Kumu's total funding to over $100 million. [21]
In November 2021, Kumu partnered with Eat Bulaga! to launch Bida First: Isang Tawag Ka Lang!, a segment within the Eat Bulaga! program where viewers can win cash prizes by calling a phone number, in the app. [22]
In March 2022, Kumu partnered with TV5 to launch Top Class, a talent search reality TV show focused on looking for the next Pinoy pop idol. [23] In the same month, Kumu partnered with the Premier Volleyball League to stream their games on the Kumu app. [24]
Pinoy Big Brother, more popularly known by its abbreviated title PBB, is the Philippine version of the Big Brother reality game show franchise. The word Pinoy in the title is a colloquial term for the Filipino people. Is a Philippine television reality show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Studio 23 and its international channel, TFC in various countries worldwide. Originally hosted by Willie Revillame, Toni Gonzaga and Mariel Rodriguez, it premiered on August 21, 2005. The uncut 24/7 version of the series can also be seen on the internet through Kumu, a Philippine online livestreaming app, as part of their partnership on the current season, as carried over from the previous season. Kumunity Season 10, the recently concluded season, was hosted by Bianca Gonzalez and Robi Domingo.
Kapamilya Channel is a 24-hour Philippine pay television network owned and operated by ABS-CBN Corporation, a company under Lopez Holdings Corporation owned by the López family. The network is headquartered at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Center in Quezon City where it started broadcasting on June 13, 2020, also marking its parent company's 74th anniversary. A separate high definition 1080i resolution channel began broadcasting the same day.
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast over the internet in real-time or near real-time. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but not live-streamed.
Pinoy pop or P-pop refers to a contemporary pop music in the Philippines originating from the OPM genre. With its beginnings in the late 1970s, Pinoy pop is a growing genre in year of the 2020s. Through the 1990s to the 2000s, Pinoy pop was regularly showcased in the live band scene.
Alexandra Mamangun Ilacad is a Filipino actress, singer, host, dancer, vlogger and model. She appears in various commercials and shows of ABS-CBN, and is best known for playing Lexie Domingo in Luv U, Luna Dela Cuesta in The Killer Bride, Bobbie Salazar in Four Sisters Before the Wedding, and for joining Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 as a celebrity housemate.
Pinoy Big Brother has received criticism from the Filipino public and news media. Organizations including Endemol and the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board have investigated the show.
iWantTFC is a Filipino over-the-top content platform and production company owned and operated by ABS-CBN Digital Media, a division of ABS-CBN Corporation, formed in 2020 through the merger of two streaming services iWant and TFC Online. In addition to offering on-demand contents of ABS-CBN, iWantTFC also live streams linear channels such as Kapamilya Channel, TeleRadyo, Knowledge Channel, FashionTV, A8 ESports, and Black Belt.
Kyle John Echarri is a Filipino singer and actor. He made his first television appearance at the age of eleven when he joined season 2 of The Voice Kids. He has appeared in various films and television shows such as On the Wings of Love, Seven Sundays, Maalaala Mo Kaya, Kadenang Ginto, Silly Red Shoes, Huwag Kang Mangamba and The Iron Heart.
GCash is a Philippine mobile payments service owned by Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc., and operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary, G-Xchange, Inc.
Pinoy Big Brother: Connect is the ninth main and fifteenth season of Pinoy Big Brother which premiered on December 6, 2020, on both A2Z and Kapamilya Channel. The show was also simulcast and digitally streamed via ABS-CBN's entertainment website, iWantTFC and Kapamilya Channel's Kapamilya Online Live in Facebook and YouTube; live feeds of the House were also shown on Kumu, an online streaming platform. With the blocktime arrangement inked between ABS-CBN and TV5, the show aired on free television broadcast from March 8 until its finale.
Bini is a Filipino girl group under ABS-CBN's Star Magic that is formed through Star Hunt Academy (SHA), and is composed of eight members: Aiah, Colet, Maloi, Gwen, Stacey, Mikha, Jhoanna, and Sheena. The group's pre-debut single "Da Coconut Nut" was released on November 20, 2020. BINI officially debuted on June 11, 2021, with their debut single "Born to Win".
Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10, also known as Pinoy Big Brother Season 10, is the tenth main and sixteenth overall season of the Philippine reality television series, Pinoy Big Brother. The season, which premiered on October 16, 2021, was the second to partner with the social-media app Kumu; "Kumunity" is a portmanteau of "Kumu" and "community".
Kyle Daiñel Magno Estrada, better known as KD Estrada is a Filipino actor, singer, songwriter, and composer. He is mostly known for his stint as a celebrity housemate of Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10.
Run to Me is a Philippine romantic comedy drama television streaming miniseries produced under the collaboration between Dreamscape Entertainment, iWantTFC, and social networking service Kumu, starring KD Estrada and Alexa Ilacad in their first main role as a loveteam. It was directed by Dwein Ruedas Baltazar.
Kroma Entertainment, commonly known as Kroma, is a Philippine media and entertainment company engaging in film and television, digital content management and other media-related businesses. It is financially backed by Globe Telecom through 917Ventures' Retirement Fund agency.
The celebrity edition of Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 premiered on Kapamilya Channel, Jeepney TV and A2Z on October 16, 2021. The first edition in the multi-part season, this edition featured contestants from the Celebrity Kumunity, which composes of people with a claim to fame.
The teen edition of Pinoy Big Brother: Kumunity Season 10 premiered on Kapamilya Channel, Jeepney TV and A2Z on March 13, 2022. The third edition in the multi-part season, this edition featured contestants from the Teen Kumunity, which composes of civilians aged fifteen through nineteen.