Samsung Reportedly Buys Boxee For $30 Million

Samsung has reportedly paid $30 million for Boxee, the streaming media player that has struggled to make a name for itself in the competitive home entertainment market, according to a report from the Israeli business site, The Marker.  Samsung will reportedly continue to employ Boxee’s 40 employees.

Boxee, which previously raised $26.5 million, was hoping to raise another $30 million before deciding to seek a potential buyer after failing to make a foothold in the competitive Internet media streaming market.

Samsung, which is a leader in connected devices such as smart TV’s, will likely use the purchase to extend its reach with their current media ecosystem.

The Tel Aviv-based startup was among one of the first companies to offer a product with that streams movies and shows from Internet services directly to the TV, but has failed to make a foothold in the market as consumers graviated toward products like Roku and DVR provided through their cable and satellite providers.

Even with Boxee’s rebranded “Boxee Cloud DVR” product launch in Wal-Mart in October, the company was still unable to gain solid footing.  The device, which connects to a television set, acts as a DVR using cloud storage and broadcasts over-the-air television programming with its built-in antenna.   However, many consumers were unhappy with the product as its broadcast TV capabilities only worked in a few cities.