Ericsson is slightly pushing back the close date for the spinoff of its media solutions business, now operating as MediaKind, from the third quarter to around the end of 2018.
MediaKind is being formed out of an agreement for Ericsson to sell a majority stake of its media solutions business to One Equity Partners. Ericsson will retain a 49% stake in the new independent company.
Ericsson said the process of setting up appropriate operating entities and smoothing the transition for customers has been more complex than initially expected. But the company said that MediaKind is still seeing momentum with potential customers. MediaKind signed a deal with Canada operator CogecoConnexion for enabling IPTV services based on MediaFirst, which Ericsson said is the first time its platform business has worked with a cable operator. MediaKind also has new contracts in place with Digicel in Papua New Guinea, TotalPlay in Mexico and TangerineGlobal in the United States.
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During IBC last week in Amsterdam, MediaKind also announced a new personalization suite for advertising and content distribution rights as part of its MediaKind Universe offering.
“Consumers are constantly seeking the best viewing experiences, while broadcasters are always endeavoring to enhance revenue from their premium TV video inventory. Our advertising and content distribution rights solutions are addressing this by creating innovative ways for TV service providers and broadcasters to further increase the revenue received from each ad, while at the same time, delivering the most compelling and relevant experience for the viewer. This is in turn enables TV service providers and broadcasters to evolve and adapt their offerings to compete with pure-play OTT providers, as the media industry undergoes its next great shift,” said Boris Felts, head of product and solutions at MediaKind, in a statement.