Re: Digital TV - Cisco Moving In / PixStream Purchase
"You would think if CSCO was moving in, then they must feel it's going to be a substantial market in the future."
Thread- I posted the above a few weeks back and today, CSCO makes yet another move into TV Land. This one via a digital video content specialist, PixStream. This whole A-D conversion of TV land, around the world, seems to be drawing the strong interest of Cisco.
Now they are going to go head to head with Harmonic's Divicom division via this purchase, along with MOT and SFA. Mark if you are reading this, I guess this addresses your upstream question about a threat CSCO may pose to HLIT. I don't know anything about PixStream, only going off the reporters comments for what that's worth.
IMVHO, both MOT and SFA have such a strong footprint in USA MSO land that I'm wondering if CSCO is thinking along the lines of getting the MSO business in the rest of the world as that market seems to be in much earlier stages than what is going on currently in the USA (I never did verify this with any strong supporting stats). -MikeM(From Florida)
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Cisco Systems to Buy PixStream for $369 Mln in Stock
San Jose, California, Aug. 31-- Cisco Systems Inc., the No. 1 maker of computer-networking equipment, agreed to buy PixStream Inc. for about $369 million in stock to offer services that manage digital video sent across broadband networks.
The transaction is expected to close in Cisco's fiscal first quarter. Cisco will take a one-time charge of no more than 2 cents a share to account for in-process research and development it gets with the purchase of the closely held company.
PixStream, based in Waterloo, Ontario, provides hardware and software that allows cable, digital subscriber line and wireless service providers to distribute and manage broadband video services like television and pay-per-view programming.
''It's a small but rapidly growing market,'' said Ammar Hanafi, Cisco's vice president of business development. The San Jose, California-based company sees ''a multibillion-dollar opportunity in the future,'' he said.
PixStream lists five customers on its Web site, including BCE Inc.'s Bell Canada International Inc. and Kingston Communications Plc. Its main competitors include Harmonic Inc.'s DiviCom unit, Motorola Inc.'s General Instrument and Scientific-Atlanta Inc., Hanafi said.
Cisco hopes to sell the PixStream gear to customers such as SBC Communications Inc., the largest U.S. local-phone company, Hanafi said. The equipment works with products from Next Level Communications Inc., he said.
PixStream was founded in 1996 and has 156 employees. |
