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Apple picks up video guide service Matcha.TV

Apple's snapped up Matcha.TV, a small company that specialized in TV and movie listings and recommendations.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn
2 min read

Apple's bought another company -- one with a product that could end up in your living room.

The iPhone, iPad, and Mac maker recently bought Matcha.TV, a service that once aggregated video content listings from both cable providers and online sources, reports VentureBeat.

Matcha.TV launched near the end of 2011, but went offline back in May, noting that the service would no longer be available and that all user information had been deleted.

Beyond its own database of shows, the service also offered personalized recommendations for programming based on tastes, and let users subscribe to shows they liked.

As usual, Apple's not elaborating on the deal short of saying it "buys smaller technology companies from time to time" and noting that it doesn't discuss what it's doing with them.

The acquisition comes as all eyes are on the company's next move in living room entertainment. Where it was once rumored to be working on a TV set, more recently focus has turned to set top boxes, where Apple could be vying to roll out something that would let users stream live and on-demand video programmingwith help from cable companies.

Earlier this year, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that Apple has been buying a company every month or two. It recently snapped up two mapping/location companies: HopStop and Locationary, presumably to bolster its own mapping software, which had a rough launch last year. Two weeks ago it was also discovered that Apple recently acquired Passif Semiconductor, a small Oakland, Calif.-based company.

"We are always looking, and if anything, we will do more of that in the future," Cook saidat the All Things Digital Conference in May.