Microsoft Sells Mediaroom IPTV Business To Ericsson

Microsoft's Mediaroom allows operators to deliver television over the internet, but the Redmond-based company is handing off the business division to Ericsson, which will continue to support and improve on Mediaroom for now on. Microsoft says they sold off Mediaroom in order to focus more on their Xbox brand.

Mediaroom powers approximately 22 million set-top boxes in 11 million households around the world, and the purchase by Ericsson will make the company the leading provider of IPTV solutions with a market share of over 25%, according to a statement by Ericsson earlier today. Microsoft calls the acquisition "mutually beneficial and strategically aligned for both parties."

It was recently rumored late last month that Ericsson was pondering the idea of buying Mediaroom from Microsoft, and it certainly seemed unsurprising at the time. However, the news is official today. Now that Microsoft has Mediaroom out of the way, the company can focus on bringing TV services to Xbox Live, which has already seen some great new content added on as of late.

Indeed, it does seem like Microsoft and Ericsson, as well as Mediaroom will all benefit from the acquisition: Mediaroom won't be shutting down (but rather growing in the future), Ericsson now has a hold of the business and now dominates the IPTV market share, and Microsoft now has more time to focus its efforts on Xbox Live. It's a win-win-win situation.