Media Experiences 2 Go

Motorola Home and Networks Mobility went through a big acquisition phase a couple years back, but since then things have been somewhat quiet on the M&A front. That changed today with the announcement that Motorola is in the process of acquiring BitBand. As with previous acquisitions, the BitBand purchase fills out a critical segment of Motorola’s video portfolio. BitBand is a content management and CDN provider focused on IP video on demand.

There are several ways that BitBand ties in with Motorola’s existing business:

1. As an extension of the company’s on-demand portfolio
   Remember, Motorola’s focused a lot of attention on VOD this past year, introducing the Adaptive Media Management framework and passing the  milestone of one million on-demand streams shipped
2. As an extension to Motorola’s IP video portfolio
   This includes IP set-tops, DOCSIS video delivery, the transport gateway, the Storefront service delivery platform, and Microsoft Mediaroom integration expertise
3. As a bridge to the next generation of TV delivery
   Television of the future includes both traditional TV and over-the-top video

BitBand brings an impressive CV with it to the Motorola family. The IP video specialist has more than 60 commercial IPTV deployments worldwide, with a particularly strong base in Europe (a useful complement to Motorola’s access network customer footprint there). BitBand has also won a number of awards in its ten-year history, including the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer award, a listing among Harvard Business School Alumni Club’s “25 companies that will transform the world,” and the VentureWire Investors’ Choice award.

More to come after the deal closes. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Filed under: IP, IPTV, Motorola News, Networks, TV, Video, VOD