Amazon snaps up Elemental to boost video on AWS

Elemental makes software to help media and entertainment companies take live and on-demand video intended for traditional purposes such as cable, satellite or over-the-air broadcast and reformat it for digital distribution to PCs, smartphones, tablets and TVs. The Oregon company was founded in 2006.

Amazon Web Services plans to use the technology in new integrations and infrastructure offerings, it said. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year; terms were not disclosed.

Elemental claims more than 700 media franchise customers and powers over-the-top TV applications including the BBC’s iPlayer, CNNGo, ESPN ScoreCenter, HBO GO, MSNBC Shift, Sky Go and Sky Now. It also supports 4K Ultra HD services, including those delivered by the BBC during the 2014 World Cup.

The company will continue to operate under its existing brand, serving pay-TV operators, content programmers, broadcasters, governments and enterprise customers, but it will also expand the integration of its offerings with AWS, Amazon said.

"From the looks of it, Amazon is acquiring both a successful business with hundreds of global media customers and a software platform that it should be able to adapt for the AWS platform," said Charles King, principal analyst with Pund-IT. "The result could be innovative media streaming services open to a wider ecosystem of customers than Elemental currently serves."