Future of TV? Not from Intel. AllThingsD is reporting that the chipmaker is handing its web-based streaming service project over to US telco Verizon.
Intel had confirmed back in February that it had a massive streaming TV project in the works, and apparently it was willing to pay buttloads of money for the content deals to make it happen. It was even rumoured that Intel’s negotiations had been successful. But rumours are rumours. And considering that securing deals with cable companies has been the major hurdle for pretty much every company with streaming TV ambitions, it’s likely that the inability to actually lock them down is what derailed Intel.
Now AllThingsD says Intel and Verizon are reportedly in late-stage negotiations to transfer ownership of the project. Ultimately, this deal would make a lot of sense for everyone involved. Intel was always an odd company to be working on a streaming TV service, and Verizon already has its Redbox Streaming offering, so perhaps this is an effort to beef that up into something more substantial. Meanwhile, all this talk about TV’s future is a whole lot of smoke and absolutely no fire. [AllThingsD via CNET]
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