Ericsson has announced its intention to acquire FYI Television, the entertainment metadata and media content supplier based in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to be completed in Q1 2016.
FYI Television distributes TV entertainment content and linear scheduling data from over 9,000 TV networks each day, aggregating the information into customised formats for various digital, media, content, analytics and print clients for use on their connected devices.
According to ConsumerLab research from Ericsson, 50 per cent of linear TV viewers say they can’t find good content to watch on a daily basis. With this in mind, Ericsson’s ambition is to combine FYI’s US-market data services with its own expertise to create a global force in content discovery.
Magnus Mandersson, executive vice president and head of business unit global services at Ericsson, said, “As the TV industry evolves and viewing behaviour changes, we believe that high quality, rich metadata will be a key component for a personalised TV experience. Combined with our capabilities in TV platforms and content discovery, we will be able to help our customers to improve the video experience and identify new revenue opportunities.”
FYI Television’s employees will join Business Line Broadcast and Media Services, part of Ericsson’s Business Unit Global Services.
Mandersson added, “FYI Television’s expertise and customer base in the US is a great complementary fit for Ericsson and will be an integral part of our growth strategy. It will strengthen our position as one of the leading providers of media services in the world.”
