Apple buys Matcha.tv video app

Apple may hope the move will boost its video recommendations service

Matcha.tv ran on iOS, Apple’s operating system, and offered comprehensive listings of all films and programmes available on television, streaming video services and digital video stores – such as iTunes and Amazon.

It allowed users to queue the videos they had chosen, log in to social networks to see what their friends were watching and liking, and also offered video recommendations.

But the app closed in May with no explanation given. Its CEO, Guy Piekarz said only that the service was not gone for good but would be developing in a new direction.

Matcha.tv was still growing at the time and regularly featured among the most popular items in Apple’s App Store.

The acquisition was reported by the VentureBeat website, which cited a source claiming Apple had paid between $1m and $1.5m for the application.

Apple refused to comment on the reported purchase directly, only telling the site: “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not discuss our purpose or plans.”

It is unclear at this stage what the Californian company plans to do with the app, though analysts have suggested it will be used to boost its video recommendations service, drawing users away from Netflix.

CEO Tim Cook has talked about Apple’s plans to "revolutionise" the TV industry.

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Apple’s TV plans likely won’t disrupt the big cable companies

While Google and Intel look dead-set on disrupting the cable industry, Apple appears to be taking a more accommodating approach. The New York Times reports that Apple’s secretive long-term plans for the television market will likely include partnerships with both media companies and cable companies to get its television products into consumers’ living rooms more quickly.

To this end, the Times says that Apple is “collaborating with distributors like Time Warner Cable and programmers like the Walt Disney Company on apps that might eliminate the unpleasant parts of TV watching, like bothersome set-top boxes or clunky remote controls” and not trying to create its own Internet-based content streaming service that would compete against the established providers.

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