Mayer wants to rival You Tube as Yahoo sets its sights on video company RayV
Yahoo is stepping up the pace in bolstering its web-video technology .The company led by Marissa Mayer is close to finalising an acquisition of video-streaming startup RayV, said the Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter.
Marissa Mayer: Taking on YouTube?
A Yahoo spokeswoman declined to comment. RayV co-founder Omer Luzzatti didn't respond to requests for comment.
Mayer has negotiated several web-video deals recently. She is said to want to turn her video site, Screen, into a viable competitor to Google's YouTube.
Yahoo last year failed to buy French video site Dailymotion and tha TV portal Hulu. Mayer is undeterred. This year, Yahoo has held talks to acquire online video services Fullscreen Inc. and News Distribution Network.In April she announced plans for two online comedy shows with celebrity directors.
RayV may help Yahoo improve the technology underlying its video efforts, said the WSJ. Founded in 2006, RayV spent its first six years quietly developing software to improve high-definition video streaming over the Web and to mobile devices. Its software suite, launched in 2012, includes a content-distribution network, a content-management system and digital-rights management.
The acquisition could also expand Yahoo's operations in Israel. RayV is based in Los Angeles, but has a research-and-development operation in Tel Aviv. Yahoo has previously acquired at least three Israeli startups—Dapper, FoxyTunes and FareChase—and has had an R&D center in Tel Aviv since 2010.
Since becoming CEO in July 2012, Ms. Mayer has invested over $1.2 billion on more than three-dozen small acquisitions. She has added engineers and technology, but has so far failed to boost revenue or stop Google and Facebook tapping the online-ad market.