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Watch Out Apple iTV, Cisco Going For The Kill

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Image by Getty Images North America via @daylife

"Imagine a world where finding, enjoying, storing and moving content is easy.  Because TV should be easy."  You would think these are the words from an Apple (AAPL) ad for its much speculated upcoming iTV.

You could not be more wrong.  With a little help from Cisco Systems (CSCO), soon every player in the TV market will genuinely be able to make such a claim.

Who would have thought that Cisco would go for the kill even before Apple gives birth to iTV?

Cisco has announced that it will pay about $5 billion to acquire a British software company NDS Group.

NDS has a solid pitch, ‘An amazing user experience is critical to the operator’s success. Thanks to powerful MediaHighway® set-top box software and intuitive EPGS and UIs like the award-winning NDS Snowflake™ UI, NDS makes it easier for your customers to maximize their enjoyment and use more of the services you have to offer. The NDS Studio Design team will create a unique look and feel for your operation, or choose from a wealth of existing solutions.’

The pitch gets better, ‘Delivering content to TV is just the beginning in the world of anywhere, anytime, on any device. With solutions like the NDS Unified Headend™, NDS Unified Gateway™ and VideoGuard Connect™, NDS has created complete end-to-end systems that will enable you to maximize your content investment and revenues, push your brand and give your customers the flexibility to enjoy their content on all of the devices they own.’

Marthin De Beer said, “We are on the cusp of a whole new wave of digital entertainment experiences that will make video content much easier to find, navigate, interact with and enjoy, on any device and network. Today, Cisco took another important step towards realizing that vision by announcing its intention to acquire NDS Group Ltd. a leading provider of video software and content security solutions that enables users to intuitively view, search and navigate across digital content anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

Cisco is getting into the business of enabling Apple’s competitors to compete with iTV.  Rovi Corporation (ROVI) is angling for the same market with a different approach.  Google (GOOG) is ready to grab a piece of the market perhaps with an approach similar to Android.  Could Amazon (AMZN) be far behind?

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About Me: I am an engineer and nuclear physicist by background. I have founded two Inc. 500 companies, and have been involved in over 50 entrepreneurial ventures. I am the Chief Investment Officer at The Arora Report, which publishes four newsletters to help investors profit from change. Please feel free to write me at Nigam@TheAroraReport.com.

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Full disclosure: Subscribers to The Arora Report are long Apple from $131 and have taken partial profits at $360, and $525.  We also have positions in CSCO and ROVI.