Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) is asking $500 million for the technology behind its planned-but-never-launched over-the-top TV service called OnCue, according to a report in Bloomberg. Citing "people familiar with the process," Bloomberg reported Intel wants to shed OnCue service by the end of the year.
Reported potential buyers include Verizon (NYSE: VZ), Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA) and Samsung, according to multiple press reports. It's unclear whether Intel will get its asking price, or what a new owner would do with the service.
Verizon already offers a pay-TV service, FiOS, that's very similar to a local cable system and Liberty Global operates cable systems overseas. Traditional distributors may not be interested in offering OTT services that might upset content owners and prompt them to sue.
But Bloomberg also reported that Verizon has held talks with content owners about offering a streaming TV service. If it proceeds, that service would most closely match the one Intel planned when it began work on its TV project.
For more:
- Bloomberg has this report
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