Japan's PLAY Buys Cloud Playout Vendor Veset for Asia Expansion

PLAY's acquisition formalizes a technology partnership that already saw Nimbus powering PLAY's KRONOS service in Japan, giving Veset a direct path into Asian broadcast markets through an established local partner. The move reflects broader consolidation in cloud playout, where vendors with deep regional relationships are absorbing independent platforms to lock in technology stacks and distribution channels. Watch whether Veset's existing global broadcaster and service-provider customers stay put under new ownership or seek alternative cloud playout providers.

Per TV Tech, February 2023, financial terms of the PLAY-Veset deal were not disclosed. The acquisition completed a relationship that began with a minority investment — PLAY's own corporate announcement (per play.jp, February 2023) indicates the company took an approximately 10% stake in Veset International Limited in December 2020 before acquiring the remaining shares on February 3, 2023. PLAY, a subsidiary of Nippon TV, had built its KRONOS cloud playout service by integrating Veset Nimbus through API, adding its own UI layer for Japanese customers, according to a Veset case study.

The acquisition sits within a broader wave of consolidation in the cloud playout market. MarketsandMarkets projects the playout automation and channel-in-a-box market to grow from $2.9 billion in 2023 to $6.1 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 15.8%. Amagi, identified as the market-share leader in cloud playout per a MarketIntelo report, has been the most active consolidator — acquiring Tellyo's business in November 2023 (per Amagi's newsroom) and forming strategic partnerships with Imagine Communications and Encompass Digital Media. Sinclair Broadcast Group selected Amagi in April 2023 to migrate local broadcast station playout to the cloud.

Veset, founded in 2014 and headquartered in London with technical operations in Latvia, is one of several independent cloud playout vendors listed in MarketsandMarkets' competitive landscape alongside Evrideo, PlayBox Technology, and coralbay.tv. The PLAY acquisition reduces the number of independent European cloud playout providers, continuing a pattern in which regional distributors absorb specialized vendors to secure technology stacks and local market access.