i.TV has inked a deal to acquire GetGlue, a developer of second screen apps and affinity-based TV "check-in" features that touts a registered user base of 4.5 million users.
The deal begins the expected consolidation of what's become a fragmented market of second screen app developers.
The acquisition, announced Wednesday, also marks the second time GetGlue has been tabbed for a merger. About two years ago, another second-screen startup, Viggle, struck a deal to buy GetGlue for $25 million plus stock that would’ve pushed the value of the deal beyond the $70 million mark, but the deal was called off in January 2013. Viggle, which just expanded its relationship with DirecTV, has about 3.06 million registered users.
Financial terms of the iTV/GetGlue deal were not disclosed, but i.TV CEO Brad Pelo said his company plans to maintain and improve GetGlue as an independent product, but will integrate it and its “superfans” with the i.TV backend platform, which powers second screen and social TV apps for several brands, including AOL, Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, Telus, and Nintendo TV, the service bundled into the WiiU gaming console.
