The startup Matcha has been around since 2012, when they launched a service that tracks digital television services like Hulu and Amazon Prime. Earlier this year they suddenly shut down with no explanation, and there were rumors that they might have been bought out.
Now those rumors have been verified, as Apple announces that they have acquired the startup in their latest move to eventually break into the TV market.
Apple has been trying to break into the TV market for awhile. But while they have experienced some success with iTunes purchases, the existence of sites like Netflix and Hulu are still keeping them down. As for the hardware side, Google’s Chromecast swooped in and quickly dominated the niche that they had been chipping at with their Apple TV for years. So they have tried again with Matcha.
The company is still remaining tight lipped on the matter, however. We do know that they bought the app for between $1 and $1.5 million. While they aren’t saying anything else, their intentions seem to be pretty clear.
In addition to this news is another rumor about an iPhone announcement on September 10th. This isn’t likely to be the much anticipated iPhone 6, as Apple tends to follow a pattern. Instead, we are probably looking at the iPhone 5S, the upgraded version of the current model.
Between these two pieces of news, it shows that Apple is both going with the status quo on their mobile devices, and trying to break new ground with the TV market. But one is likely to be more successful than the other. Entertainment companies in the US in particular are a becoming more and more common. They have just never found a formula that is any better than what is already being provided.
Add in Chromecast, the highly affordable device that allowed media syncing to your television, and it feels as though Apple’s dreams of the TV world might be dead. Though it is interesting that they went with an acquisition that was based around tracking digital media and redirection. I would expect a serious bias towards iTunes when it is relaunched.
Source: The Guardian
