Ericsson last week announced that it had acquired Microsoft’s Mediaroom TV solution business, which, the firm claims, holds a 25 percent market share over the IPTV and multi-screen market.
The deal is expected to be finalised during the second half of 2013, said Per Borgklint, Senior Vice President and Head of Business Unit Support Solutions, Ericsson, in a statement. He added that the time was right for Ericsson to be involved in IPTV distribution.
“Ericsson’s vision of the networked society foresees 50 billion devices to be connected via broadband, mobility and cloud,” he said. “Future video distribution will have a similar impact on consumer behavior and consumption as mobile voice has had.
“This acquisition contributes to a leading position for Ericsson with more than 40 customers, serving over 11 million subscriber households. In addition, Ericsson will be powered with senior competence and some of the most talented people within the field of IPTV distribution.”
According to Ericsson, the global IPTV market is set to reach 76 million subscribers this year, generating revenues of $32 billion. By 2015, the firm reckons, the market will cater for 105 million subscribers, generating $45 billion. With a 25-percent market share, then, Mediaroom is a serious acquisition in this quickly growing business.
Mediaroom is behind some of the world’s biggest TV service providers, with the likes of AT&T’s U-verse, Deutsche Telekom’s Entertain and Telefonica all using its services. According to Ericsson, Mediaroom-powered TV services are offered on more than 22 million set top boxes.
Having already won Emmy Awards within the media industry, Ericsson wants to take advantage of this growing consumer side of the market, which it thinks will grow with the advent of 4G LTE and faster wired broadband services.
According to Tom Gibbons, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft, Ericsson’s portfolio of TV and networking services makes it the ideal new Mediaroom owner. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
