Ericsson acquires Microsoft Mediaroom to lead the IPTV market

The market for video distribution across multiple networks and devices will change following Ericsson's agreement to acquire Microsoft Mediaroom.

Ericsson will become one of the largest providers of IPTV and display solutions, after the agreement reached with Microsoft to acquire your TV Mediaroom solutions business, with a combined market share greater than 25%.

The operation, whose closure is scheduled for the second half of 2013, underlines Ericsson's commitment to be a preferred partner in video distribution across multiple networks and devices, placing the company at the forefront of 'TV Anywhere' consumption.

Per Borgklint, vice president and head of Ericsson's Support Solutions business unit, has pointed out that “Ericsson's vision of the connected society foresees 50.000 millions of devices connected by broadband, mobility and 'the cloud'. Future video distribution will impact consumer behavior and consumption, similar to what the voice has had through the mobile phone”.

The global IPTV market is estimated to reach 76 million subscribers in 2013, with an income of 32.000 million dollars, which will increase to 105 million subscribers in 2015. “This acquisition contributes to strengthening Ericsson's leadership, with more than forty clients, supplying more than eleven million homes subscribed to IPTV distribution”, Borgklint emphasizes.

Ericsson's total portfolio of multimedia solutions in the areas of TV and video, combined with a greater focus on consumer needs, It will be the basis for offering services to end users. The importance of video distribution capabilities will increase as more LTE networks are deployed., completed with smartphone users.

For your part, Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of Microsoft, points out that “we are proud to occupy a leading position in the IPTV market that we have achieved with Mediaroom. Ericsson's complementary portfolio of TV and network services will determine Mediaroom's future growth and development.

Microsoft Mediaroom is the television technology of the world's leading television service providers, and the services provided are offered on more than twenty-two million devices throughout America and the regions of Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific.

This agreement is subject to legal approvals, although when Mediaroom ends it will be incorporated into Ericsson's Support Solutions business unit.