Sun Microsystems Inc and Thomson Multimedia SA are looking at a number of options for restructuring their Open TV interactive television alliance. They would not confirm any specific reports, but Sun said an announcement is due in the next couple of weeks. There are several options open to them. Spinning the alliance off as a separate company is one option, but it isn’t big enough for that, one industry source said. Another option is shifting control to one or other of Sun or Thomson or formalizing it as a business unit rather than as a consortium. According to a report in Consumer Electronics, it will become an independent company with partnership moving from joint venture to one where Thomson takes the lead and Sun retains equity interest, Sun CEO Scott McNealy is reported as saying, adding that the alliance, currently 50-50, is working fine.
Sources
Sources familiar with plans told Consumer Electronics that the independent company would operate with Thomson and Sun staff and funding. The two companies have taken the next logical step in forming a group dedicated to marketing this technology to the world, the source said. This would be a higher level commitment from Thomson and Sun because customers would prefer a vendor to be a real company instead of two guys getting together on a fun idea. Thomson and Sun formed the Mountain View, California-based Open TV alliance in November 1994. It was established to bring together Sun’s experience in personal computer networks and servers and Thomson’s abilities in digital video compression and consumer product manufacturing. It has around 40 employees from both companies.
