Ericsson to Acquire US Content Discovery Business

Ericsson announced today that it is acquiring Texas-based entertainment content provider FYI Television in a move to expand its content discovery business from Europe to the rest of the world

Ericsson plans to expand its content discovery business with the acquisition of US-based FYI Television.

Texas-based FYI Television accumulates and distributes TV entertainment content and linear scheduling data from over 9,000 TV networks daily.

It aggregates this information into customised formats for various digital, media, content, analytics and print clients for use on a wide range of devices, from mobiles to gaming consoles.

Ericsson claims to be the largest provider of content discovery services in Europe and intends to make its business global with the addition of FYI.

It cited its own research, which found that 50 percent of linear TV viewers can not find good programming to watch on a daily basis.

The Sweden-based vendor did not reveal how much it was paying for FYI but said it expected to close the deal before the end of the first quarter.

It is the first deal Ericsson has made since it announced a business and technology partnership with Cisco.

Sales at its Global Services arm, into which FYI will be incorporated, rose 11 percent in Q3 2015.

Magnus Mandersson, Executive Vice President and Head of Business Unit Global Services at Ericsson, said: "As the TV industry evolves and viewing behavior changes, we believe that high-quality, rich metadata will be a key component for a personalized TV experience.

“Combined with our capabilities in TV platforms and content discovery, we will be able to help our customers to improve the video experience and identify new revenue opportunities.“

FYI Television's expertise and customer base in the US is a great complementary fit for Ericsson and will be an integral part of our growth strategy.

“It will strengthen our position as one of the leading providers of media services in the world."

Source; European Communications