Microsoft buys livestreaming service Beam to boost interaction on the platform

Microsoft’s latest acquisition might be giving them an advantage in the livestreaming space. Its latest buy is livestreaming service Beam, a platform that lets viewers interact in real-time with the streamers while they broadcast. This is in contrast with Twitch that only allows passive viewing. Beam’s SDK doesn’t just allow for simple chatting and streaming, it allows you to directly interface with the streamers and even get involved in the game. You can earn XP points, boosters, and emoticons based on how much and how often you watch.

Beam will be part of the Xbox team and its CEO Matt Salsamendi is viewing this as a positive for them as well. Salsamendi says, "As part of the Xbox team, we'll be able to scale faster than we've ever been able to before." 

Source: Engadget

Case maker Incipio buys Skullcandy

Incipio is adding more to its stable of audio offerings by buying Skullcandy, the makers of flashy, youth-oriented headphones. According to Android Police, the terms of the acquisition offer US$5.75 for any shares of Skullcandy. This is then worth a combined $177 million in cash, making up a 59 percent premium over the brand’s current market value (including cash holdings and investments). Astro Gaming, Skullcandy’s gaming-specific brand of headphones and headsets are also part of the deal. More than anything, Incipio is getting the wide retail reach of Skullcandy, which develops everything from high-end Bluetooth noise-cancelling headphones to sweat-proof sport headsets to colorful and affordable earbuds.

The other recent acquisitions of Incipio include high-end speaker manufacturer Braven, accessory maker Incase, and beachwear company Tavik. If Incipio maintains its hands-off approach with its other purchases, you probably won’t notice any difference with Skullcandy.

Twitter looks to improve your videos with latest acquisition

Facebook isn’t the only one investing in livestreaming and artificial intelligence. Twitter has just acquired Magic Pony, a small London-based company that specializes in using machine learning to process visuals, for an unofficial worth of about US$150 million. The acquisition was for improving the social network’s strengths when it comes live and pre-recorded videos. According to Twitter chief Jack Dorsey, Magic Pony can help with things like sharpening blurry video elements without using up more of your bandwidth. You’ll probably see more of Magic Pony’s efforts when you watch a Periscope stream, trailer, or other videos on both Periscope and the Twitter app.

Source: Engadget

Deezer sells Stitcher to E.W. Scripps

Less than two years after Deezer bought podcast app Stitcher, the streaming music service is selling it off to media company E.W. Scripps for US$4.5 million. The Stitcher team will be joining Midroll Media, a podcast producer and advertising network. At the moment, Deezer says podcast content will be available on their platform. For how long, we can’t say. According to Scripps, Stitcher has 8.5 million registered users and is installed in 50 models of cars. The company didn’t say though how many active users the service has. Stitcher believes this acquisition will help both advertisers and content partners with “an expanded portfolio of opportunities” to help reach their target audience. We can’t say yet how they’d do that though.

Source: Engadget