Synacor, a company that specializes in Web startup pages and TV Everywhere technologies, will be looking to expand its multiscreen video horizons after inking a deal to acquire the people and assets of NimbleTV.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but Synacor spokeswoman Meredith Roth said the cost is not expected to have a material impact on its business goals and financial guidance.

Founded in 2010, NimbleTV was originally focused on providing Slingbox-like remote TV access to consumers with existing pay-TV subscriptions via a centralized cloud-based platform. NimbleTV had launched its service in New York and Chicago, but recently shut down its direct-to-consumer service, the companies said (NimbleTV's service went dark on January 12, Re/code reported). In Chicago, for example, NimbleTV was providing access to a subset of live TV channels for free to area consumers who already subscribe to video services from Comcast and AT&T U-verse. Alongside that free component, NimbleTV also sold a cloud-based HD-DVR service that fetched $4.99 per month for 10 hours of storage space. In New York, NimbleTV, which had no deals or direct affiliations with MVPDs, had introduced a platform for subs of Verizon FiOS, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable and RCN. 

Synacor said it will integrate NimbleTV’s technology into its overall video platform, and help it push ahead with the development of an authenticated, linear TV service for its clients. The company added that the acquisition will help it to accelerate video product development and client commitments and better leverage the TV rights its clients have with programmers and other content owners. Synacor said it will also gain patents that will shore up its Cloud ID offering.

Providing “[e]nd-to-end, advanced video solutions” will play an important role in Synacor’s growth strategy,said Synacor, a company that works with several MVPDs, including Verizon, Charter Communications, Suddenlink Communications, CenturyLink Communications, WideOpenWest, Armstrong, and Mediacom Communications, among others.  

On the company’s most recent earnings call, Synacor noted that it is developing a Professional Services team to deliver end-to-end advanced video solutions, and has rolled out its new PowerPlay Video Search and Discovery platform with Verizon Communications and Suddenlink Communications. The company believes that its addressable market for that new platform and services play is about $200 million this year, with the potential to grow 30% year-over-year.

Syancor's Roth said 13 NimbleTV employees, including CEO Anand Subramanian, who will report to Synacor CEO Himish Bhise, will be joining Synacor. The group joining from NimbleTV will remain at its New York City location. Synacor will consolidate its NYC offices at NimbleTV’s current spot near Penn Station. Synacor is headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y.

The acquisition is the first for Synacor under Bhise, a former AOL, Comcast and Charter Communications exec who took the helm last August.  

Bhise joined Synacor as the company was getting  pushed by two dissident investors to seek a sale. Synacor, which laid off about 20% of its workforce last fall as part of a reorg, has maintained that it will move ahead on a plan and a growth strategy that will keep the company independent.

"Synacor has an important role to play as streaming video consumers—OTT and TV Everywhere—proliferate,” Bhise said in a statement. “We see a fragmented landscape of vendors and believe our customers are looking to Synacor as a one-stop, trusted partner. NimbleTV is another step toward expanding our team and platform to deliver end-to-end, advanced video solutions. And we will continue to work with partners in the video ecosystem to assemble best-in-class technologies to deliver video solutions for our clients."

NimbleTV, the startup that provides Slingbox-like remote TV access to consumers with existing pay-TV subscriptions via a centralized cloud-based platform, said it has expanded into the Chicago metro area.

In Chicago, NimbleTV is providing access to a subset of live TV channels for free to area consumers who already subscribe to video services from Comcast and AT&T U-verse. Alongside that free component, NimbleTV also sells a cloud-based HD-DVR service that starts at $4.99 per month for 10 hours of storage space.

NimbleTV launched its platform in New York last year for subscribers of Verizon Communications FiOS, Cablevision Systems, Time Warner Cable and RCN. NimbleTV on Wednesday also announced Wednesday that, like its Chicago offering, its baseline remote access service in New York is now available for free alongside the company’s paid cloud DVR service.

NimbleTV said it plans to rollout to several other major U.S. cities later this year. Markets previously cited by the company as potential expansion hubs include Atlanta; Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.

NimbleTV has no deals or direct affiliations with multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), but does require users to log-in and verify their pay-TV credentials before they can access TV programming via the company’s data centers.

“We’re delighted to offer Chicago residents a new way of viewing their TV that’s on their terms,” said Anand Subramanian, founder and CEO of NimbleTV, in a statement. “By allowing them to ‘Nimble-ize’ their cable subscription, customers can change the way they access their TV while also respecting the existing TV ecosystem that pays creators for their content.”

NimbleTV currently supports most browser platforms, iOS devices, the Apple TV (via Airplay), Roku (through a private NimbleTV channel), and select Android devices and connected TVs.

NimbleTV has not released total customer figures, but in May the company said it was getting about 1,000 sign-ups per day in New York.

Although NimbleTV insists that its approach is legal and preserves the existing pay-TV ecosystem, at least one MVPD has started to review the legality of the service, Variety reported Wednesday.

NimbleTV also sells three “Pro” plans for consumers who do not already subscribe to a pay-TV service. Its 20-plus channel plan runs $29.98 per month with 20 hours of DVR storage; 40-plus channels for $59.98 per month and 20 hours of DVR storage; and $84.98 per month with 20 hours of DVR storage included. NimbleTV also sells premium packages from Cinemax, Starz and Showtime ($14 each per month), Fox Soccer Plus ($15 per month), and HBO ($19 per month).

NimbleTV, the company behind a cloud-based platform that provides access to local channels as well as pay-TV subscriptions and a cloud DVR, said it will follow last year's launch in New York City with the debut of its multiscreen platform in nine additional U.S. cities later this year.

NimbleTV said it will support channels from the Chicago area starting August 1, and will follow with access to local channels later this year in Atlanta; Boston; Dallas; Detroit; Philadelphia; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C.

NimbleTV launched in New York late last year, billing itself as a hosted “concierge” service. Although it doesn’t have direct relationships with pay-TV operators, its system in that market currently provides access to four local MVPDs: RCN, Time Warner Cable, Cablevision Systems, Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV and RCN. It has not yet announced which MVPDs it will support in its upcoming launch markets.

Under its model, NimbleTV signs up customers for video services and manages the installation of set-tops at a data center, where it re-encodes the signals before passing them along to customers. In this respect, NimbleTV essentially provides a virtualized version of a Slingbox and a cloud DVR that delivers video to a range of IP-connected platform, including most major PC web browsers, Apple iOS devices, select Android smartphones and tablets, the Apple TV box (via AirPlay), and on the Roku platform (via a private NimbleTV channel).

Using its hosted, concierge-style approach, NimbleTV signs up customers for video services and manages the installation of set-tops at a data center, where it re-encodes the signals and passes them along to customers; users access the service on a variety of devices, including PCs, Roku boxes, iOS devices, select smart TVs and the Apple TV box

In New York, NimbleTV offers a “free” tier that provides more than 10 channels, and a “Lite” plan for consumers that have an existing pay-TV service that starts at $3.99 per month and provides multiscreen access to a slimmed-down live TV lineup and a cloud DVR.

NimbleTV also offers three “Select” paid plans for consumers who do not already subscribe to a pay-TV service: 20-plus channels for $29.98 per month and 20 hours of DVR storage; 40-plus channels for $59.98 per month and 90 hours of DVR storage for $59.98 per month; and 90-plus channels and 90 hours of DVR storage for $84.98 per month. NimbleTV sells premium packages from Cinemax, Starz and Showtime ($14 each per month), Fox Soccer Plus ($15 per month), and HBO ($19 per month).

Subscribers can also pay for extra DVR storage, starting at 10 hours for $4.99 per month, and up to 300 hours for $21.99 per month. NimbleTV also offers channels from parts of India, and has plans to offer channels from Russia, the U.K., and Germany.

NimbleTV has not released a subscriber figure, but the company is “seeing solid growth of 1,000 new sign-ups a day," a company spokesman said via email.

Because it supports existing subscription models, NimbleTV insists that it is a friend to pay-TV providers while also providing a consumer-friendly multiscreen service that provides on-the-go access to their video subscriptions.

“Pay TV is fragmented across devices, locations and providers. NimbleTV’s simple mission is to unify the viewing experience, making the TV that consumers are already paying for easily accessible to them, on their own terms,”  Anand Subramanian, founder and CEO of NimbleTV, said in a statement. “Supporting programming from cities across the country brings us one step closer to our goal, while respecting the existing TV ecosystem that pays creators for their content.”

Founded in 2010, NimbleTV raised $6 million in the fall of 2012, and includes Tribune, Greycroft Partners and Tribeca Venture Partners among its financial backers.