Intel confirmed its all-in for this whole streaming TV thing early this year, and since then we’ve heard that plenty of the big content providers are slowly but surely getting on board. And how did that happen? According to Reuters it’s because Intel is willing to pay out the arse to make this work.
Reuters cites two anonymous sources who say Intel is offering as much as 175 per cent of the going rate to rights-owners whose content it’s looking to plop on its service. That extra cash has apparently gotten CBS, News Corp and Viacom on board, and Comcast’s NBC Universal is still in the works.
According to Reuters’ sources, media companies will often give better deals to distributors with more viewers. Intel has none, so it should come as no surprise that the chipmaker needs a little cash to grease things up a bit. And speaking of skads of cash, Intel is positioning this service as a premium one — not some cut-rate alternative — so it’s only reasonable to expect they’ll ask a hefty fee of customers once it’s off the ground.
The service is set to be announced sometime later this year, and the more cash that’s thrown at it, the earlier that’s likely to be. We’ll just have to wait and see if the gilded service was worth all that expense. [Reuters]
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