AioTV has pivoted—and the new business model is so successful that it’s received offers for a takeover.

Based in Halifax and Denver, aioTV set out six years ago to offer a single platform that would provide a range of TV products, from free internet-based video to traditional TV networks to streaming services.

Founded by Halifax native Michael Earle, the company received a $1 million funding from Innovacorp in 2011 and a year later sold 44 percent of the company to China’s UTStarcom Holdings Corp. for $8 million.

While Earle and some executives are based in Denver, the company has built up its development team and some marketing operations in Halifax. The CEO said he is delighted with the performance of this team, which now amounts to 20 people. He plans to increase the size of the operation through the year with the goal of doubling it in the near future.

Dash Hudson Also Prospers After Pivot

About a year ago, the company realized its strategy of offering several products on a single platform just wasn’t the path to get where it wanted to go.

“We were successful in selling to second- and third-tier telco operators, but they didn’t have the scale to give us what we wanted,” Earle said in an interview from his base in Denver. “You end up spending a lot more in customization for these small guys than you could ever recoup.”

So the company began to research what the Tier 1 telecom and television companies around the world need in the ensuing one to three years, and the answer came back that they needed an enhanced curation function.

The aioTV curation function that it has now produced is a personalized recommendation engine that chooses a broad array of material for the user from more than just a list of movies. For example, if you have just watched a movie, the curation function could tell you there is material on YouTube about the making of the movie, or where to find interviews with the stars.

So far, the response has been encouraging. The company is in talks with four blue chip companies about taking the product, and Earle believes it will have one signed within a month. These companies include the second-largest cable operator in the world, as well as top-tier players in the U.S and Canada. If all four sign on, aioTV will have “significant market penetration” in the North American market.

The next big market for growth would be Asia, he said, adding UTStarcom could help the company grow in the Far East due to its links in the Chinese market.

Earle said the company has a strong balance sheet and doesn’t need to raise capital, but it would take on a new investor if the right strategic deal presented itself. More interesting, he said aioTV is considering a few offers to buy the company.

“We have very significant and legitimate interest from businesses in acquiring our business,” he said.

“We’re examining those but it’s not the only way we can grow.”