Echostar Buys SlingMedia For $380 Million
If 5% of Facebook is worth $500 million, then one can’t be surprised that place shifting pioneer SlingMedia is worth something. The Foster City, Calif.-based Sling has been acquired by EchoStar (DISH), a satellite broadcasting service company for $380 million in cash and stock.
Sling has raised over $60 million in venture funding. John Malone’s Liberty Media Corporation and Echostar Communications were some of the backers of this three-year-old company co-founded by Blake Krikorian, Jason Krikorian and Bhupen Shah.
“As an early investor in Sling Media, EchoStar has been pleased with the progress and commitment the company has made establishing Sling Media and the Slingbox as powerful and beloved digital media brands,” said Charlie Ergen, CEO and co-founder of EchoStar.
I first wrote about the company back in October 2004, and was enthusiastic about their technology that shifted television from home to pretty much anywhere. Since then, the tireless trio took their original idea, turned it into a functioning product and flawlessly executed on their vision.
Sling maintained two offices – one in Silicon Valley and one in Bangalore, India that was responsible for crafting together the chips that provide the Sling magic. Blake would often return my calls sitting in transit somewhere half way around the planet, visiting the labs in Bangalore.
Sling is smart to take the money from Echostar. If history is any indication then building a consumer electronics company in Silicon Valley is a tough task. Sling has established a nice brand, but in order to grow further the company needs deep pockets of a corporate master.
It is fun to see two start-ups, Zimbra and Sling Media get snapped up in space of less than two weeks, bearing out my early (and sometimes unbridled) enthusiasm for them.
Bonus Link: Check out my interview with Blake for The GigaOM Show. Ryan McIntyre, who was an early believer and investor in the company gives his side of the story.
Nice sale. Congratulations to the founders and investors.
Any wagers as to whether the final sale value of TiVo [or its assets] will be over or under that $380 million?
Current TiVo market cap is ~$600 million.
I’ll take the under.
Om, fyi more on the deal:
http://www.ryanmcintyre.com/2007/09/sling-media-ech.html
I remember reading the reviews for the first generation SlingBox and how awful they were. The newer boxes weren’t that inspiring and I really wondered how many boxes they sold.
Also, I’ve used http://www.orb.com in the past with my Windows XP Media Center and that seemed to work just as well, without having to buy hardware and it was free.
Folks who hang out w/TV and HDTV geeks already know how the popularity of Slingbox has been growing. Since they wangled their way into the Big Box stores, it was only a matter of time before they were gobbled up. Latest generations function flawlessly.
And the GigaOmTV interview was great. Om is ahead of the pack as usual.
So we can finally watch YES Network on an Echostar property!!!
pretty interesting news since Sling is providing the backend for Directv’s NFL Ticket broadband service this year. If anything I would have expected Directv to make the deal.
Kinda funny that Liberty and Echostar both invested in Sling, Liberty went on to buy Echostar’s competitor (DirecTV) and Echostar bought Sling.
Hey, i worked with the slingbox a year ago before my startup got bought by tandberg, then Ericcsoon…its a nice tool and very handy indeed…but yeah, i had expected direcTv to buy it rather than Echostar!
I just hope our friends at Echostar can unlock the full potential of SlingMedia. This acquisition has the potential to create a beautiful offering for consumers.
So these are the guys that make it possible to watch TV on your computer. Excellent. Sling Media acquiring Echostar is a real good move because satelite is the wave of the future and India is definitely part of the future.
Joyangel123 http://www.travelyourway123.com
[...] Sling Sold To EchoStar For $380 Million If 5% of Facebook is worth $500 million, then one can’t be surprised that place shifting pioneer SlingMedia is worth something. The Foster City, Calif.-based Sling has been acquired by EchoStar (DISH), a satellite broadcasting service company for $380 million in cash and stock. Continue Reading. [...]
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