March 10, 2014

Rovi acquires Veveo to improve TV recommendation service

Rovi, a service that licenses data for on-screen television guides recently announced that it had acquired Veveo for $69 million. This technology acquisition is intended to bolster Rovi's search-and-analytics tools for its television and consumer electronics partners. Rovi will pay Veveo $62 million in cash and an additional $7 million more when certain targets are completed. 

Andover, Massachusetts-based Veveo provides predictive search technology to major telecommunications companies like AT&T, Cablevision and Verizon to help users find videos relevant to their interests. The deal will complement the services already provided by Rovi including customer-target promotions and advertising. The two companies will also integrate Rovi's language software that allow users to give vocal commands to search for content. 

"Veveo has developed a great set of technologies and is a clear strategic fit for where we are going as a company," Rovi CEO Tom Carson said to PC Mag. "Rovi is enhancing its capabilities to deliver more and better discovery solutions, as our customers look to personalize the consumer entertainment experience across multiple screens and platforms."

Rovi's voice search function can follow a wide range of commands and is designed to learn as it goes. As a result, users do not need to repeat themselves as they search through movies. The program can also understand when users are searching for specific genres and can make recommendations based on previous queries. 

In January, Santa Clara, California-based Rovie formed a partnership with Mexican telecom giant America Movil SAB to use its cloud services to help with its TV guide information and search recommendations. the company also supplies data for Microsoft's Xbox One gaming system, providing links to information about relevant television shows and celebrities.