EchoStar Technologies will continue to supply the international cable market following the announcement that it will cease development of its Aria platform.
In a statement released to US trade publication Multichannel News, Echostar said it would end its domestic sales effort, concentrating on Slingbox placeshifting and the adaptive bit-rate technology of Move Technologies last year for $45 million.
The company said it “remains firmly committed to supplying advanced hardware, software, and system solutions to its global cable, satellite, and telecom customers outside of the US cable set-top box market.”
“EchoStar recognizes that the highly demanding and competitive nature of the US set-top market is very cost-competitive,” the company said. “After considerable review of the market and EchoStar’s sales/product development efforts, EchoStar has concluded the US cable market offers insufficient revenue return opportunities to the company and our investors.”
The Aria product suite was released last year and included ‘SlingLoaded’ devices that enabled cable operators to deliver VOD and HD content over the top, while allowing consumers to stream their own recordings.
In Europe, Echostar supplies product to Unitymedia and was shortlisted by PIKE as a supplier for the Polish ‘Universal’ cable box.