AT&T to Acquire Quickplay Media

DALLAS -- AT&T plans to acquire Quickplay Media, Inc., a leader in powering over-the-top (OTT) video and TV Everywhere services, from Madison Dearborn Partners. The acquisition builds on the companies’ existing relationship. Quickplay’s platform currently supports AT&T’s U-verse TV Everywhere offering and will support the streaming offers — DIRECTV Now, DIRECTV Mobile and DIRECTV Preview — that AT&T plans to introduce later this year. These new plans will let viewers stream DIRECTV content over the Internet to virtually any device.

“Our strategy is to deliver video content however, whenever and wherever,” said John Stankey, CEO, AT&T Entertainment Group. “Quickplay's multitenant IP distribution infrastructure, combined with AT&T's leading scale in IP connected end points, will allow us to host and distribute all forms of video traffic. We intend to scale and operate an industry-leading video distribution platform, and viewers will get the high-quality online video viewing experience they desire."

“We’ve spent more than a decade developing an advanced technology and service platform that can deliver premium video content to any device and over any network. Our solution is highly automated and scalable. With AT&T, we’ll have the resources we need to further scale, grow the business, and continuously enhance that platform,” said Wayne Purboo, founder and CEO, Quickplay. “Our team is proud of what we’ve built so far and excited to join the AT&T family. This combination will help us power the next generation of video services.”

AT&T plans to retain Quickplay’s more than 350 employees and contractors. “Quickplay’s talented team of people is critical to our success,” Stankey said. “Their knowledge and skills are a key part of executing our video strategy.”

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)