WISI acquires Aereo assets
June 8, 2016
German firm WISI Communications has announced a further expansion of its Multiscreen and OTT portfolio, now known as Project Katamaran. Earlier this year, WISI quietly acquired the authentication, packaging, network DVR, back-office, client, provisioning and infrastructure software originally developed by American firm Aereo. WISI is evolving key components of this proven and scalable platform to meet the unique multiscreen and OTT delivery needs of independent video operators around the world.
“There are a lot of moving parts to streaming video delivery and many small companies trying to do their own little piece. This can make it challenging for independent operators to separate the stable and reliable solutions from the noise,” said John Pomeroy, VP of Multiscreen Infrastructure at WISI. “We asked ourselves how these products could be done better, in a cost effective and proven way. Globally, independent operators have been asking for an end-to-end platform that scales from a few thousand to a few hundred thousand subscribers. To meet that demand, we acquired these assets, giving us a huge advantage over the rest of the market. Chet Kanojia, Joe Lipowski and their team at Aereo spent more than $35 million over three years and built some fantastic and award winning technology. Unfortunately, Aereo was not able to secure content rights. WISI’s customers, by contrast, are licensed operators and have existing content relationships that allow them to fully leverage the technology.”