CBS has acquired Clicker. The TV Guide of the internet. Clicker’s CEO Jim Lanzone has been named President of CBS Interactive. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
PRess release [Shorten]
Clicker is a comprehensive search engine for TV content on the web. The startup made its debut at TechCrunch50 in 2009, and currently indexes more than one million full length TV episodes on the web.
The startup also released a more social version of Clicker that allows people to discover, share, rate, discuss, and check-in to shows on Clicker and third party partner sites, and rolled out Clicker Mobile, which allows users to access Clicker’s service through free Android and iPhone apps. Most recently, Clicker launched a deep Facebook integration to offer personalized TV recommendations.
Besides a technology play, the acquisition was also a talent buy. Before founding Clicker, Jim Lanzone was the CEO of Ask.com, which was acquired by IAC in 2005. Considering Lanzone’s experience in both web and content technologies, he seems like the perfect fit for CBS’s interactive arm.
Clicker will become a property of CBS Interactive, whose other sites include CNET, TV.com, CBS.com, CBSSports.com, CBSNews.com and Gamespot.