Intel sells Internet television project to Verizon
By Shawn Knight on January 21, 2014, 11:45
Verizon has agreed to purchase Intel's Internet television venture. The project from Intel Media, which was to include a set-top box, never got off the ground as the chip maker was unable to secure content deals – a dilemma that others have faced when trying to break into the streaming content market.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed although previous rumors suggested Intel was looking to get around $500 million for the venture.
The purchase includes the intellectual property associated with the Internet TV program and the employees that were working in that division. Verizon will offer jobs to around 350 employees currently based in Santa Clara, California, according to a joint press release on the matter.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich said the sale enables the company to further align their focus and resources around advancing their broad computing product portfolio.
Intel had been working on the program, which would allow the company to stream television channels over the Internet, for the past couple of years. As we've heard before, the hardware side was solid and much easier to use than traditional set-top boxes from cable and satellite providers but securing content deals proved too difficult a hurdle to overcome.
Some content providers would only license their programming if other competitors jumped on board while many also commanded a premium over what cable and satellite providers pay as to not disadvantage them.
The deal is expected to close sometime during this quarter, pending regulatory approval and the like.
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