Today EchoStar announced that is has acquired Sling Media for $380 million in cash. My partner and 2007 travel buddy Ryan McIntyre is smiling tonight as he crawls into bed and reflects on another great deal on the heals of his successful investment in Postini (acquired in July by Google for $625 million.) I’d recommend that he snuggle up to a Slingbox, but I’ll restrain myself.
Ryan has written a nice essay on the story of his experience with Sling Media. The Sling team – led by Blake Krikorian – has created a great company and a superb set of products. I knew I was in love when I turned over my first Slingbox and noticed a little sticker with the phrase “Lebowski” on it. Sling packed an incredible amount of innovative software (and a tiny bit of hardware) into a plastic box that was mostly filled with air. The magic was in the software (dynamic video-stream-optimization technology called Lebowski) which reinforced our view that “it’s all about the software.”
Guys – awesome job. EchoStar – you guys just made a really smart purchase.