MADRID, 14 Aug. (Portaltic/EP) -
Apple's latest acquisition, in its fight to place itself in the first position in the market of content providers, is Matcha.tv, according to a source related to the news and who has asked not to be named.
Matcha.tv was an iOS app that provided a global view of everything that was available to be viewed through cable TV providers (Comcast), video streaming services (Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime), and digital video stores (iTunes, Amazon).
In addition, you can manage the contents that have been viewed and get video recommendations the user can also connect with social networks and watch what their friends are watching at that time. It was among the top 15 entertainment apps listed on Apple's App Store.
However, the service shut down in May with no apparent explanation. Matcha.tv CEO Guy Piekarz told TechCrunch in May that they didn't plan to shut down the service forever, but were going to be working in a new direction.
This decision, however, was very bad news for the users of the application, who saw how all their data was deleted at the same time that the service closed.
After the purchase, which VentureBeat has estimated between one million and one and a half million dollars (753,465 to 1,130,198 euros), Apple told VentureBeat the following: "At Apple we buy small technology companies from time to time." This is, therefore, the same answer that Apple usually provides when asked about all its recent acquisitions. Piekarz, for the time being, declined to comment.
The question remains as to why Apple has decided on this company, since Matcha.tv does not have any value patents or a large user base. On the other hand, it does have a very good service that maps all the content available both online and on television. In this sense, he suggests that Matcha.tv technology is in line with television plans in the future, perhaps to improve Apple TV or for the development of new devices.
Related links:
- TechCrunch
- VentureBeat
