Media Technology Acquisition
Evaluating a Next-Generation Broadcasting Technology Acquisition
Technical Due Diligence
Custom Applications
Business to Business
The Challenge
The target had built a JavaScript framework that let broadcasters deploy next-generation television services—essentially an operating system for a new broadcasting standard. The technology looked promising. But our client needed to know what was really under the hood before writing a check: Was it ready to scale? What investments would be required? Could it evolve from a developer-focused framework into a product that could drive widespread adoption?
What We Did
We spent six weeks conducting a comprehensive assessment: leadership interviews with the CEO and key technical partners, source code audit across 20+ repositories, architecture review of the deployment model, SDLC evaluation of development practices, and IP analysis tracing ownership through contracts and contributor history. We were not checking boxes—we were forming a complete picture.
The technology was strong, but the business model had not kept pace. By identifying the gap between what they were selling and what customers actually needed, we helped our client see not just what they were buying, but what it would take to make the acquisition successful.
The Outcome
Our client went into negotiations with eyes wide open. The deal closed with our findings shaping integration planning and specific deal terms around IP representations and post-close obligations. They did not just buy a company—they bought it knowing what they were getting and what they needed to do with it.
What We Found
The core framework was solid—a strong beta ready for the next stage. But the business model assumed customers had sophisticated technical teams for self-service deployment. Reality was different: smaller broadcasters lacked capability, larger ones were slow to adopt updates. The company was already evolving toward managed services without fully committing to it. We also found significant key-person risk (one developer wrote most of the code), IP ambiguity in licensing and ownership, and no automated testing.
