Just 5 months after Verizon acquired Intel’s OnCue streaming service, Erik Huggers said that he has decided to part ways with Verizon Communications.
Huggers along with his employees joined Verizon following the acquisition of Intel’s OnCue streaming service, developed by him over a period of 2 years in a push into Internet TV services.
“Time to move on,” Huggers said in an interview with Reuters on Friday. “There were no conflicts at all. The technology is great, the team is great, the future is secure, the dream lives on. It’s time to hand the baby over to someone else.”
A source familiar with the matter claimed that Verizon was moving away from the OnCue service strategy and Huggers departure was an indication of the waning interest.
However a Verizon spokesman said “We obtained a strong combination of technological and personnel assets from Intel Media. We intend to strategically utilize the OnCue technology and talent going forward to grow our business. That has not changed.”
Huggers also stressed that the company is investing “quite significantly” in OnCue. He has been reporting to Marni Walden, head of product development, Verizon and has also had a good rapport with the company’s CEO Lowell MacAdam.
Huggers said that he has been studying various opportunities and that he has “a couple of irons in the fire.” He also has plans to take some time off, but added that whatever it is, it will be in Silicon Valley stating “It’s the center of the universe as far as I’m concerned.”
