Rovi is putting up its Rovi Entertainment Store video...
Rovi is putting up its Rovi Entertainment Store video streaming platform up for sale, having apparently abandoned plans for restructuring the unit. Rovi Entertainment Store, which Rovi renamed after acquiring Sonic Solutions and its RoxioNow platform in 2011, provided video…
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streaming for Toys ‘R’ Us, Best Buy’s CinemaNow, Dixons and Dish Network’s Blockbuster On Demand, but also lost Sears as a customer. The sale of the unit will allow Rovi to focus on “core enabling technologies” including its TotalGuide interactive program guide, DivX Plus streaming and Rovi Cloud services, the company said. While Rovi Entertainment Store will “continue to grow and provide and excellent platform for on-demand media delivery,” selling the business will ensure Rovi management is “fully focused” on “building our core assets,” CEO Tom Carson said in a statement. Rovi, which hired GCA Savvian Advisors to help with the sale, last fall slashed 127 jobs and dropped development of embedded TotalGuide for CE products, moving to cut $31 million in annual operating costs. Rovi said then it also planned to restructure Rovi Entertainment Store, seeking to reduce the cost of goods sold by 25 percent through improved contracts and job cuts. Rovi Entertainment Store was moved into its own business unit last year after it struggled with a high number of customer service calls and late deployments, Rovi has said. Rovi’s Q3 “other” revenue, which includes the video streaming platform, dropped to $18.3 million from $19.7 million a year earlier.