Stingray abandons move to acquire Music Choice

Canadian music, media and technology outfit Stingray has abandoned its plan to acquire Music Choice as part of its drive to grow its presence in the US market.

In a statement, Stingray said that it did not intend to comment further on its decision to terminate its efforts to acquire Music Choice, a partnership backed by US cable operators Charter Communications, Comcast and Cox as well as Sony Corporation of America, WarnerMedia and Microsoft.

Music channel provider Stingray made a US$120 million bid last March to acquire the outstanding units of Music Choice, which produces music programming and content for cable, mobile and broadband platforms.

In 2011 Stingray acquired the separate Music Choice Europe for an undisclosed sum, helping it to expand its presence in Europe and Africa.

In December, Stingray struck a distribution agreement with US cable operator Altice USA to bring music audio channels and videos from its on-demand catalogue to Altice USA subscribers.

“While we continue to see benefits in a combination of Music Choice with Stingray, we are extremely confident in our strategic direction and are excited by the significant opportunities before us,” said Eric Boyko, president, co-founder and CEO of Stingray.

“Following Stingray’s recently announced distribution agreement with Altice USA which will bring 50 Stingray Music audio channels and hundreds of music videos from Stingray’s On-Demand catalogue to Altice USA’s Optimum and Suddenlink subscribers, Stingray has signaled its commitment to winning the US market. We believe Stingray is well-positioned to continue as the supplier of choice in the United States for curated B2B and direct-to-consumer services.”