Can You See Me Now? Verizon to Buy Intel's TV Division

Jan. 21, 2014— -- Verizon is looking to take TV watching to the next level. The telecommunications company announced today that it would be purchasing Intel Media, the chipmaker's department devoted to better TV options and services.

Intel Media, which had been working on a Cloud TV system called OnCue, was looking to expand TV services beyond the traditional television set in your living room. "The OnCue platform and team will help Verizon bring next-generation video services to audiences who increasingly expect to view content when, where and how they want it," Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said in a statement.

Though the exact details of the deal (including the cost) weren't disclosed, Verizon has said that it will acquire the intellectual property rights of OnCue. The deal is expected to be completed in early 2014.

Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies, said that Intel was never going to be the company to bring a better TV service to the market, and that the deal is Verizon's big push to make FiOS a more attractive cable option. "Verizon needed to own [the tech] in-house," he told ABC News. "No other company can use Intel's technology."

Though what OnCue will actually bring to the TV watching experience is still up in the air. "The tech that Verizon bought was geared around new ways to interact with content, how it interacts with phones and tablets," said Bajarin. "That's where I think they're heading, but we're going to have to wait and see how Verizon develops it."