Amazon acquired LoveFilm, the UK’s answer to NetFlix, back in January. And now, it seems, it’s also buying LoveFilm’s IPTV app developer Pushbutton, as paidContent reports.
Pushbutton is a London-based independent digital agency, specializing in interactive TV content and services, such as IPTV, Internet-enabled TV sets, tablets, TV widgets, broadband Internet and more. The company counts the likes of Sky, BBC, Virgin and Microsoft as clients, whilst LoveFilm has committed to a long-term partnership with Pushbutton to develop its IPTV services. Pushbutton built LoveFilm’s movie streaming service on Sony Bravia internet-enabled TVs and the PlayStation 3 last year.
The acquisition is indicative of what Amazon has planned for the future, with more and more app-enabled TVs offering greater opportunities for content-owners, such as Amazon, to target a wider audience.
As paidContent notes, the acquisition also means that Amazon gains traction with YouView, of which Pushbutton is a content partner and a member of its advisory board. YouView is a consortium of Broadcasters and Broadband Internet companies that have joined forces to “offer the simplicity and value of Freeview with the choice and convenience of catch-up and on-demand services – all on your own TV.” YouView will offer a contract-free set-top box for TVs, and it’s set to enter trial mode by the end of 2011, with a full consumer launch early in 2012.
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The full terms of the acquisition are yet to be revealed, but with NetFlix set to launch in the UK and elsewhere in Europe in 2012, Amazon is clearly looking to build its armory to ensure that LoveFilm continues to dominate the digital movie-streaming space.
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