EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros. Discovery has shuttered iStreamPlanet, a Seattle-based company that allowed users to stream live and traditional TV over the internet.
Roughly 25 employees were laid off as a result of the closure. The operation was flagged for possible elimination after the WBD merger in April of 2022, Deadline has learned.
A WBD spokesperson declined comment. In 2015, Turner Broadcasting invested an additional $200 million in the company, which was founded by Serbian former pro basketball player Mio Babic.
The deal allowed Turner to take advantage of iStreamPlanet’s technology at a time when media companies didn’t have the kind of in-house knowledge needed to run large-scale streaming video operations. “This partnership will expand our capabilities to offer live events within and outside of the traditional ecosystem and, by bringing iStreamPlanet’s innovative technology in-house, allow us to cultivate future business opportunities on digital platforms,” then Turner CEO John Martin said at the time.
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