UK communications infrastructure and media services company Arqiva is looking to sell or close its video on demand venture SeeSaw after failing to find an investment partner.
“As part of an ongoing strategic business review, we have decided to sell or…
UK communications infrastructure and media services company Arqiva is looking to sell or close its video on demand venture SeeSaw after failing to find an investment partner.
“As part of an ongoing strategic business review, we have decided to sell or close the SeeSaw online TV service,” a spokesman said.
He was unable to explain why it had failed to find an investor, but a source close to the company revealed it was gearing up to close the division because it expected a sale to be “unlikely”, because of the lack of interest in the VOD unit.
In an email, the Arqiva spokesman said: “SeeSaw is an excellent service and has provided invaluable insight into the online TV market in the UK. But it no longer fits with the strategic direction in which we are taking Arqiva and requires considerable investment to succeed in an increasingly competitive market. We have tried to find an investment partner, however this has not proved possible. We have therefore put SeeSaw staff on a 30-day consultation as we need to reach a conclusion by the end of our financial year on 30 June.”
Back in February, Arqiva announced it had mandated Ingenious Corporate Finance to help it find an investment partner for SeeSaw. At the time, a separate source close to the strategic review process told TelecomFinance that there had already been a number of approaches by UK and global companies, which were seeking to capitalise on TV services’ shift to the internet.
IPTV providers, broadcasters, ISPs, content providers and even mobile operators looking to differentiate their businesses had registered initial interest as Arqiva, which does not have any other consumer facing businesses, contemplated exiting the asset entirely, the source said.
Potential suitors reportedly included Hulu and French DTH firm Canal Plus.
Previously, SeeSaw had also been widely expected to appear on the hybrid platform being planned by UK IPTV joint venture YouView, in which Arqiva among the JV partners.
Asked about any impact on YouView, which is already facing a series of delays and technical problems, the Arqiva spokesman said: “It does not affect our status or attitude towards YouView which we remain fully committed to. Our main reason for supporting YouView is to help ‘futureproof’ the terrestrial TV platform which of course we have a major interest in.”
