Harris Broadcast to Acquire Imagine Communications

Harris Broadcast has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Imagine Communications, an innovator in digital video solutions, enabling content providers and system operators to deliver bandwidth-efficient services with optimum video quality and Quality of Experience (QoE). The transaction, subject to customary approvals and closing conditions, is expected to close in January 2014.

The Imagine Communications acquisition strengthens Harris Broadcast’s end-to-end solutions portfolio, particularly enhancing its OTT, mobile video and multi-screen TV Everywhere capabilities, while furthering interoperability of technology and systems from both the linear and non-linear TV viewing worlds.

“Many of our content originator customers have been adding services for OTT and TV Everywhere, but have had to do so with bifurcated systems for linear and non-linear services,” said Charlie Vogt, Harris Broadcast CEO. “This acquisition enables Harris Broadcast to take a leadership position in the OTT and TV Everywhere market, while laying the foundation for the first true software defined integration of sales, scheduling, automation, playout and delivery across both linear and non-linear content distribution networks. Additionally, through this acquisition, we will expand our R&D and innovation initiatives, strengthen our encoding, transcoding and ABR market position, and increase our total global addressable market.”

Imagine Communications’ approach to TV Everywhere transcoding utilizes cutting edge software breakthroughs that run in a virtualized blade server environment, consistent with Harris Broadcast’s long-term vision for product development focused on software and commercial-off-the-shelf hardware. Imagine solutions serve digital broadcast markets as well as emerging applications such as TV Everywhere, Network DVR (nDVR), Internet/Mobile Video and IPTV. The longstanding broadcast paradigm of scheduled viewing (linear) at fixed locations has now expanded to on-demand, interactive, personalized and mobile video (non-linear). Imagine’s unique combination of next-generation video processing, Adaptive Bit Rate (ABR) transcoding and statistical multiplexing technology provides the bandwidth efficiency and density needed to meet the demand for TV Everywhere services.

“Harris Broadcast’s new leadership team, end-to-end technology and industry leading platforms ideally complement and significantly expand the possibilities for our cutting edge TV Everywhere capabilities,” said Richard Stanfield, Imagine Communications CEO. “By combining Imagine technology with Harris Broadcast’s intellectual property, which already powers most of the world’s top content producers, this acquisition will transform the marketplace by leveraging Harris Broadcast’s strength and transferring it through smart integration to the non-linear, OTT, TV Everywhere world. Moreover, through Harris Broadcast, our technology benefits immediately from a worldwide go-to-market infrastructure, sales force and supply chain that turbocharges the possibilities of a comprehensive offering.”