Potential of Apple deal with Rovi excites broadcast analysts

There is much speculation around the American press in the last day or so regarding a deal struck between Apple and Rovi.

Rovi are content guide specialists, who claim to have an intellectual-property portfolio comprising more than 4,600 issued or pending patents and patent applications worldwide. The company’s focus is one selling content security, metadata products and interactive programme guides to pay TV operators and consumer-electronics companies. MediaTel Group event-goers will know Rovi as partners at some of these events.

The speculation is over whether this deal might simply be an extension of one in place already with Apple to provide metadata for the itunes store, or that it may involve Rovi licensing its interactive programme guides for use in Apple’s iTunes and Apple TV service.

The latter could have interesting implications. AFP.com added that John Vinh of Collins Stewart said he believed the agreement is worth $10 million a year and that Rovi was expected to reach additional agreements with other content aggregators such as Netflix and Amazon. Another New York analyst believes that Apple may be targeting Rovi’s interactive television program guides as part of an initiative into live TV and DVR capabilities, possibly going as far as an Apple-branded television set within the next 2-4 years.

Largely speculation so far.

Whatever the detail it did Rovi’s share price no harm, rising 7% to a year-on-year increase of 47% directly after the news broke.