Mountain View, California — The acquisition spree continues, as global search engine leader Google on Friday virtually announced on The Official Google Blog that it has agreed to acquire Seattle, Washington-based digital media solutions provider Widevine Technologies Inc., which is extensively used by broadcasters to safely transmit video content online.
The move comes as Google is pledging to do a better job protecting copyrighted material and fending off a renewed lawsuit by Viacom over copyright violations. With this second buyout of the day, the search engine giant hopes to provide improved copy protection and security for streaming movies as well as optimization.
No specific plans were given, but Google made clear that Widevine was key to getting major studio movies and TV shows. By acquiring Widevine, Google will instantly become a dominant player in the market for protecting video content broadcast over the Web.
“Streaming is rapidly becoming the standard way for you to find the content you want to watch now,” Google Product Management VP Mario Queiroz said. “We have seen this on YouTube — where we get over 2 billion views every day — but it is much bigger than that, as proven by the increasing popularity of movie subscription services and tablets… many services require high-quality video and audio, secure delivery, and other content protection and video optimization technologies. With these tools in place they can easily and effectively give you access to the rich library of content you want to watch, with the immediacy you have come to expect.”
The acquisition price was not revealed.
Widevine operates with companies that want to offer protected and branded video across multiple channels. It licenses digital rights management technology to firms like Netflix in order to assure that content is not pirated. Widevine’s DRM technology is employed by more than 250 million Web-connected devices, including TVs and Blu-ray players made by Samsung, LG and Panasonic.
Its DRM technology is also used in GoogleTV devices, the Android operating system, Apple’s iOS platform and Nintendo’s Wii. Other Widevine customers include AT&T, Best Buy, Motorola, D-Link, LG, Samsung, Blockbuster, NBC.com and DISH Network.
In a blog post announcing the deal, Queiroz, said “The Widevine team has worked to provide a better video delivery experience for businesses of all kinds: from the studios that create your favorite shows and movies, to the cable systems and channels that broadcast them online and on TV, to the hardware manufacturers that let you watch that content on a variety of devices. By forging partnerships across the entire ecosystem, Widevine has made on demand services more efficient and secure for media companies, and ultimately more available and convenient for users.”
Widevine Technologies Inc. was established in 1999 by CEO Brian Baker and co-founder Vice President of Security Research Dr. Jeremy Horwitz — who is now teaching in California — and also was former Microsoft and AT&T cryptography researcher.
Google has been negotiating with Widevine for several months as pressure on the search giant grew from copyright holders. Widevine’s 60 workers will shift from the company’s offices in downtown Seattle to Google’s Kirkland campus.
It seems that the acquisition has been made in order to improve Google TV, which has been struggling due to the fact that several TV networks have blocked the platform, thereby leaving users unable to access their favorite shows. Under the circumstances, Widevine may also certainly help Google build new relationships with wary broadcasters resentful of the way Google’s platforms have been used to distribute unauthorized copies of their material.