With a Delaware bankruptcy court set to conduct the auction of MobiTV Tuesday morning, Ohio MSO Buckeye Cablevision has filed a last-minute objection.
In its filing, the operator said it doesn't object to the auction, but it wants to make sure that it keeps control of MobiTV source code it said it licensed when it entered into a $1,080,000 managed services agreement in January 2020 to make MobiTV's SaaS products the backbone of its StreamTV video system.
"MobiTV has not sought to reject any contract that it has with Buckeye nor has it sought to reject the non-exclusive license it has granted to Buckeye," the filring reads. "However, to the extent that the Debtors’ Motion seeks to sell intellectual property upon which Buckeye has a license free and clear of Buckeye’s license, or seeks to authorize a buyer to interfere with Buckeye’s use of the source code upon which Buckeye has a license, upon a rejection of the Escrow Agreement or the Service Agreement, as amended, between MobiTV and Buckeye, Buckeye objects to the Debtors’ Motion."
Emeryville, Calif.-based MobiTV provides managed IP-based video systems for primarily smaller cable operators, allowing them to offer their customers app-based platforms that run on popular off-the-shelf OTT hardware.
The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in March, claiming nearly $80 million in liabilities vs. only $19 million in assets.
It's been bailed out with a $15.5 million bridge loan by its biggest customer, T-Mobile. A slew of bidders will vie on Tuesday to buy the company, but the only bidder we publicly know about so far is Cambridge-based video tech company Amino Technologies, which disclosed the activity to its shareholders on Monday.
