Wowza acquires Flowplayer
September 7, 2022
Wowza, the live and VoD platform, has acquired Flowplayer, a Sweden-based video player specialist. The acquisition was made in partnership with Clearhaven Partner, a US-based private equity firm that focuses on software and technology, following its 2021 investment in Wowza. Financial terms were not disclosed.
By acquiring Flowplayer, Wowza says it adds enhanced player functionality, a lightweight code base and a rich plugin library – and expands its global team.
“Wowza simplifies the complexities of video for organisations at any scale with solutions designed for reliability, performance and extensibility,” said David Stubenvoll, CEO and Co-Founder at Wowza. “Integrating with Flowplayer to add key features, such as monetisation and ad insertion, reinforces our brand promise to be the solution customers start with and the partner they scale with.”
“Video on demand and live streaming is a mission critical part of our business – Wowza delivers solutions that just work,” added Dominik Schreiner, Head of Livestream at FomF GmbH (Forum für medizinische Fortbildung), a European-based provider of online medical education. “Component vendors have lacked the reliability and extensibility we need to ensure our customers’ events succeed at scale. Wowza continues to demonstrate their commitment to innovation and the growth of its customers and has become the trusted video partner for our business.”
“We have been early adopters of Wowza’s backend technologies and have long respected Wowza as a market leader in the evolving video streaming ecosystem. We are very excited to accelerate product development to tackle real customer challenges together, pushing the envelope of what is possible,” said Henrik Lovén, CEO at Flowplayer. “Our customers will benefit from even more compelling functionality, quicker innovation, and greater support.”
Wowza’s customers include NASA, Sony, Facebook, Jewelry TV, University of Oregon and thousands more. With the acquisition, Wowza welcomes L’Oréal, Ringier Axel Springer and Amedia, among many more Flowplayer customers.
“As software investors, we believe in the power of video. Our investment in Wowza was based on that premise combined with Wowza’s highly differentiated software-first approach to video,” commented Michelle Noon, Wowza Chairperson, and Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Clearhaven. “We’re delighted to support Wowza’s continued commitment to partnership and innovation through Wowza Video and the Flowplayer acquisition.”
With the acquisition of Flowplayer, Wowza expands its international footprint by adding offices in Stockholm and Helsinki, while maintaining its existing locations in Berlin and Lakewood, Colorado (global headquarters).