BuddyTV has been the subject of acquisition rumors in the past. And those surfaced again today after Kara Swisher at All Things Digital reported that talks are occurring between Flixster — the online movie directory — and Yahoo. Also tucked into the story was a reference that BuddyTV may also be involved in some way.
It was unclear from Swisher’s report whether BuddyTV is actually engaged in independent discussions with Yahoo, or if the company is in some way wrapped into Flixster already. The part of the report connecting BuddyTV to the deal also could be incorrect.
Flixster, which operates the Rotten Tomatoes movie review site, did strike a partnership deal with BuddyTV last year.
But last I heard, BuddyTV was still very much an independent startup, headquartered in Seattle’s Lower Queen Anne neighborhood and backed by Madrona Venture Group and others.
Has that changed?
BuddyTV CEO Andy Liu declined to comment when contacted by GeekWire today, so there’s not much clarity on the situation there. I’ve also reached out to Swisher to see if she can add any more color on her report.
BuddyTV has been on a bit of a growth tear, at least in terms of online traffic. The company attracted 8.7 million monthly visitors last month.
At this stage int its life cycle, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see BuddyTV gobbled up. But whether Yahoo or Flixster or some combination of the two is the best buyer, I don’t really know. Swisher also reports that Disney is sniffing around Flixster.
Purchase amounts for the San Fran Internet company range from $60 million to $90 million, according to Swisher’s sources.
John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire, a tech news site in Seattle. Follow on Twitter: @geekwirenews.
