LAS VEGAS--Move Networks, which earlier this year laid off its entire workforce, has been acquired by EchoStar, giving the company "the core technology to stream live and video-on-demand content," EchoStar said.
The acquisition is yet another sign that pay-TV operators are recognizing the importance of Web TV, and looking to accelerate the roll out of TV Everywhere-type services to consumers.
EchoStar, a spinoff from satellite TV operator Dish Network, provides set-top boxes and satellite services. It also owns SlingMedia.
Move, which raised about $70 million from investors including Cisco, Microsoft and Comcast, made its mark with a then-leading edge adaptive-rate streaming media player. But as other companies rolled out their own services that featured adaptive-rate streaming, like Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's Flash, Move lost its lead.
"We're pleased to bring aboard the talents and proficiencies in adaptive streaming and IPTV from Move Networks which will enable us to expand our portfolio of advanced television technologies serving cable, satellite, telcos and IPTV video providers," EchoStar president and CEO Mike Dugan said.
No financial details were made available but, when Move initially laid off its staff last year, rumors on the street were that it was carrying a price tag of about $150 million.
For more:
- see this release
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