Verizon reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire video streaming startup Vessel

Shawn Knight

Posts: 15,253   +192
Staff member

Verizon, the nation’s largest wireless provider, is in advanced talks with streaming video startup Vessel regarding an acquisition, people familiar with the matter tell Re/code.

Vessel rolled out of beta in March 2015 and offered users a free one-year subscription. The video streaming service, which provides exclusive access to content from some of the web’s top personalities and influencers, is the brainchild of former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar and CTO Richard Tom.

As Re/code notes, however, the service hasn’t found the level of success that it was initially hoping for since many of YouTube’s biggest stars elected to stay with the Google-owned video service rather than jump ship.

Verizon has tried to enter the streaming video industry on multiple occasions, having purchased Intel’s streaming assets in 2014 and launching mobile video service Go90 last October. The latter service, marketed to youth, hasn’t really caught on according to people both inside and outside of the company.

Verizon has also spent large sums of money to acquire Internet pioneers AOL in 2015 and Yahoo just a couple of months ago. One of the main reasons for those purchases was video.

That said, Vessel has reportedly shifted its strategy and is now working on a new product described by one person as a Snapchat-like app with image filters and other trendy features. An acquisition would give Verizon yet another streaming video service to try and do something with plus a mobile communications app, a category that’s red hot at the moment.

Permalink to story.

 
Who cares? give me unlimited data or unlimited music streaming already....I'm sick of your garbage data plans verizon and so is everyone else.
 
Back