WebTV firm Tubefilter expands

A little consolidation this morning in the burgeoning Web television field. Online news and entertainment site Tubefilter has acquired competitor Tilzy.TV for an undisclosed sum.

The two are hardly strangers. They worked closely together this year to create the “Streamy” awards – recognizing outstanding achievement in shows produced exclusively for the broadband audience.

While both companies are decent-sized fish in the tiny, tiny pond that is Web TV, they hope that by creating a larger organization, they can build the audience to a sizable enough number that larger advertisers begin to take notice of the medium.

Tubefilter is making a serious push for ad dollars, launching a digital version of the “upfronts” that broadcast networks host each year. The initiative attracted execs from Sony and IFC this spring.

Web TV is still small, but has attracted the interest of some notable Hollywood names. Neil Patrick Harris’ performance in Joss Whedon’s “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” created enough buzz for the character to cameo during this year’s Emmy awards. Rosario Dawson starred in “Gemini Division” for NBC.com. And Felicia Day is considered a leader in Web TV programming due to her work on “The Guild”.