UK communications infrastructure firm Arqiva has confirmed Pierre-Jean Sebert has stepped down as CEO of its SeeSaw online TV venture.
Sebert left in February, the same month the group announced it had mandated Ingenious Corporate Finance to find a…
UK communications infrastructure firm Arqiva has confirmed Pierre-Jean Sebert has stepped down as CEO of its SeeSaw online TV venture.
Sebert left in February, the same month the group announced it had mandated Ingenious Corporate Finance to find a SeeSaw investment partner, a spokesman confirmed.
However, the spokesman insisted Sebert’s departure was not linked to its search for investment.
“PJ Sebert has stepped down in order to pursue other opportunities,” he said.
Arqiva announced on 17 February that it was seeking a partner for SeeSaw as part of its plan to accelerate the development of the service, which launched in February 2010.
TelecomFinance understands that the asset has already been approached by a number of UK and global companies seeking to capitalize on TV services’ shift to the internet.
IPTV providers, broadcasters, ISPs, content providers and even mobile operators looking to differentiate their businesses have registered initial interest, according to a source close to the situation.
Arqiva, which does not have any other consumer facing businesses apart from SeeSaw, is contemplating exiting the asset entirely, the source added.
Although VOD is a relatively nascent market, an anticipated growth in subscriptions and advertising revenue has seen deal activity in this space increase recently.
Last month, French mobile operator Orange announced it was in exclusive talks with local video-sharing website Dailymotion to acquire a 49% stake in the company for E58.8m.
Meanwhile, German broadcasters Pro7 and RTL are rumoured to be collaborating on a venture called Project Amazonas, which will resemble US VOD service Hulu.
In the UK, SeeSaw integrates directly with content providers’ systems and employs multiple revenue models in the form of in-video advertising, pay-per-view rentals and subscription.
The spokesman for Arqiva declined to comment further, insisting the discussions were still in “early days”.
Potential suitors reportedly include Hulu and French DTH firm Canal Plus. Spanish incumbent telco Telefonica has also been reported as a potential buyer, but a separate source close to the group assured TelecomFinance that it was “not interested”.
