In yet another consumer-centric aquisition by the infrastructure giant, Cisco has scooped up video on demand and place/time shifting start-up Arroyo Video Solutions for an estimated $92 million in cash. Insiders say that the recent aquisition brings the company's total investment in its new consumer-centric direction to about $6 billion, following its acquisitions of Linksys, KISS Technology and Scientific Atlanta. Cisco also made investments in Akimbo and Cinema Now. Arroyo is the perfect addition to Cisco's growing IPTV solution since its technologies enable consumers to access web video on all three screens: TV, PC and mobile handset. The company is also a leader in the so-called networked personal video recorder (nPVR) market.
Some say the acquisition is a direct counter-attack to Microsoft's IPTV solution, which also claims to offer cross-platform shifting among Microsoft OS-based devices. Motorola also has some place-shifting and time shifting technologies. It's also important to note that the company bought Arroyo in an all-cash deal, a rare move for Cisco, which usually opts for stock deals. The cash shows just how serious Cisco is about this deal.
For more on Cisco's sanctioning of VOD and time/place shifting:
- see this smart commentary from GigaOM