Cisco announced a major expansion of its Videoscape initiative by agreeing to acquire NDS Group in a deal valued at approximately $5 billion.
NDS, which is owned by News Corp.(49%) and Permira private equity (51%), provides video software and content security for media companies, cable & satellite TV operators and IPTV service providers. Key products include its MediaHighway Set-top Box middleware software, its "XTV" Digital Video Recorder software, its "Snowflake" electronic program guide (EPG), and its "VideoGuard CA" and "VideoGuard Connect" digital rights management system.
NDS customers include some of the largest cable, satellite and broadband pay-TV operators, including Astro, Bharti, BSkyB, Canal Plus, China Central Television ("CCTV"), Cox, DIRECTV, Kabel Deutschland, Sky Deutschland, Sky Italia, TataSky, UPC and Vodafone. The company notes that a significant portion of its business is recurring, with long-term contracts, typically with an average duration of approximately five years. NDS, which is based in the U.K., has approximately 5,000 employees with facilities in Israel, France, India and China.
Cisco said the acquisition complements and accelerates "Videoscape" , its platform that enables service providers and media companies to deliver next-gen entertainment experiences.
Videoscape spans the cloud, the network and end-user clients. Cisco's goal is to make access to content more visual, mobile and social for consumers, while protecting and enhancing the value of content for service providers and media companies. NDS boosts this effort by adding end-user viewing client and content security solutions, combined with its systems integration expertise.
"Our strategy has always been driven by customer need and on capturing market transitions. Our acquisition of NDS fits squarely into this strategy, enabling content and service providers to deliver new video solutions that leverage the cloud and drive new monetization opportunities and service differentiation," stated John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco.
http://www.cisco.comhtt://www.nds.com
- In January 2011, Cisco's John Chambers outlined a new "Videoscape" portfolio of five major product families aimed at "transforming the TV experience." The goal is to work with Service Providers to allow any device over any network to access any content to which they are entitled. Cisco Videoscape would enable service providers to monetize activities outside their own network or traditional device footprints.
A key facet of Videoscape is about delivering a consistent interface across multiple devices, while providing a universal guide and search capabilities across all content sources. This requires building capabilities into the service provider's video back-office using APIs extending across content management systems and virtualized storage. The capabilities would be social network-aware and open to advertising opportunities.
Telstra was named as a lead customer.
