In an English-language exclusive, Faultline can reveal that Belgian video middleware developer Zappware was recently acquired by a venture capital firm under cover of darkness. By cover, we mean an early April 2021 press release that was only published in Dutch and went unnoticed by the rest of the world, until it was brought to our attention this week. Consolidation and commoditization alarm bells sounded in synchrony on first acknowledgement of the news, through fear for Zappware’s future in a fast-moving TV software world, particularly for a company that has for too long relied on a single major customer to prop up the business. These concerns about venture capitalists rubbing their hands together at the thought of impending job cuts…