TiVo is getting acquired by Rovi for $1.1 billion

[loster]

You might not know Rovi, but the company is apparently quite big as it is acquiring TiVo for $1.1 billion in a cash-and-stock deal. Rovi holds a bunch of patents related to the entertainment industry and does a lot of software licensing to set-top box makers and TV service providers. It also manages metadata for TV content and sells this data to cable companies.

http://techcrunch.com/2016/04/29/tivo-is-getting-acquired-by-rovi-for-1-1-billion/

[usually_quiet]

When I read the thread title, I said to myself Rovi only wants TiVo's patents, and I was right. I don't expect Rovi will give a damn about continuing TiVo's PVR business. They make a lot of money from patent infringement lawsuits and those who want to licence Rovi's grid-guide patents in the US are strong-armed into taking Rovi's data services as well. Rovi started out as Macrovison.

[jagabo]

Rovi, the devil incarnate.