Verizon Stocks Up on “TV Everywhere” Tech by Buying upLynk

Verizon has been talking to Intel about buying the chipmaker’s Web TV business. But in the meantime, it is buying other digital TV tech: The telco said it has purchased  upLynk, a startup that makes it easier to stream video on the Web.

The purchase is worth noting because, for the past year or so, upLynk has been describing itself as a software company that can help programmers and pay-TV providers with their “TV Everywhere” strategy, which is supposed to let people watch any show they want, on any device — as long as they are pay-TV subscribers.

UpLynk’s biggest claims to fame so far are the projects it has been doing with Disney. Its encoding software helps power the programmer’s Watch Disney and ABC Player apps, as well as the Watch ABC app that lets pay-TV subs watch livestreaming TV on their iPads.

Verizon didn’t disclose a purchase price for the Los Angeles-based company, but a person familiar with the transaction put the cost at more than $75 million.

When upLynk introduced itself to the press at the beginning of the year, it described itself as self-funded.