IBC 2015: Ericsson has announced that it will acquire video processing and delivery solutions provider Envivio for approximately $125 million.

Envivio’s software solutions for pay TV and TV anywhere applications perform software-based video encoding/transcoding, processing, packaging and ad insertion.

Its customers include Comcast, Cox Communications, Liberty Global, Sky, Telstra and Time Warner Cable.

As part of Ericsson’s TV and Media business, Envivio will continue to work with its customers and partners to develop its current software-based video solutions for video processing, delivery and monetisation.

The acquisition aims to strengthen Ericsson’s video compression position, combining its position in broadcast and contribution with Envivio’s solutions in multiscreen cable and telecom.

It’s hoped that Envivio’s cloud-centric and software-based video capabilities will be an addition to Ericsson’s portfolio of media enrichment, processing, publishing, delivery, and TV platforms. 

“Our consumer research clearly shows that viewers are demanding TV on their terms on any device, and expecting experiences that continually evolve,” said Ericsson senior vice president and head of business unit support solutions Per Borgklint.

“We are committed to offering our customers a clear path towards fully agile cloud agnostic platforms that delight TV consumers. I look forward to welcoming the market leader in pure software-defined video encoding, processing, and packaging into Ericsson.

“The combination will strengthen our encoding position with both custom silicon and pure software encoding, delivering performance and flexibility.”

The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of the year.