Intel Sells Its Online TV Business to Verizon

Intel’s recent reinvention has continued with the news that the company is selling its online television service, OnCue, to US network provider Verizon.

Verizon will buy the intellectual property rights and other assets of the OnCue Cloud TV platform, and will offer jobs to the 350 employees that currently make up the Intel Media unit, who will continue to be based in Santa Clara and led by the  current management team.

The news confirms rumours from late last year which named Verizon as one of the companies interested in buying Intel’s platform for a reported $500 million. The purchase, financial details of which have not yet been released, means that Verizon will now be able to offer advanced IP-based television services as part of its online offerings. The company recently announced new video delivery capabilities which should mean that customers get quicker and smoother access to video streamed across Verizon’s 4G LTE network.

Broadening horizons

“The OnCue platform and team will help Verizon bring next-generation video services to audiences who increasingly expect to view content when, where and how they want it,” Lowell McAdam, chairman and CEO of Verizon, said of the deal. “This transaction provides us with the capabilities to build a powerful, capitally efficient engine for future growth and innovation. We will have the opportunity to enhance, expand, accelerate and integrate our delivery of video products and services to better serve audiences on a wide array of devices.”

The deal is the latest move by Verizon as it seeks to expand its media capabilities. In December 2013, the company announced it would buy EdgeCast, an industry leader in content delivery networks, and also recently announced the acquisition of streaming technology company upLynk, which streamlines the uploading and encoding of video for live, linear and video-on-demand content.

Intel recently said it expected no revenue growth in 2014, due to an expected decline in PC sales worldwide, and also announced it would be cutting 5,000 jobs worldwide (around 5 percent of its workforce), in order to cut costs. Intel’s future now appears to be focused towards integrating various areas of technology into the Internet of Things, with the company taking to the stage at CES to demonstrate a number of new products, including some examples of wearable technology, which it hopes will bring diversity to its offerings.

Brian Krzanich, CEO of Intel Corporation, said of the Verizon deal, “This sale also enables Intel to further align our focus and resources around advancing our broad computing product portfolio in segments ranging from the Internet-of-Things to data centres.”

Verizon’s acquisition is subject to the usual customary regulatory approvals, and is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2014.

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