Operator agnostic: Despite the deeper connection with EchoStar, an investor since early 2006, Krikorian insists the company will remain “operator agnostic,” adding “hopefully, we can target DISH customers as well. ... The opportunity, the one that we’ve been going after is one that I would say is not just regional—it’s national, it’s a global opportunity. Charlie’s a smart guy, he knows that.”

Selling versus funding: Krikorian: “We were ready to fund. We were about to raise a round and it was a pretty healthy one. We had some great investors. (He wouldn’t identify the investors who had agreed to participate in a third round but said some were new.) As we were heading down that path, we ended up getting approached by a few different companies. I wasn’t incredibly interested in selling at this point. I wanted to keep building it and keep creating ...  we really wanted to be able to push the envelope.” Among the least interesting acquisition offers: big media companies. “We would have gotten lost in the bureaucracy.”

Why EchoStar? “With EchoStar, we’d gotten to know them, to know Charlie. Charlie is one of the real pioneers. He’s a guy who helped build an entire industry, he’s a founder, he’s an entrepreneur. Clearly, there’s a lot I can learn from him. He understands us ... He knows what it’s like to be this passionate about what you do. I’m very confident that the position we’re being put in here, the opportunity being provided us is one that will only accelerate what we’re building.”

Lawsuit potential?: When I raised the possibility that those deeper pockets could encourage lawsuits a la Google (NSDQ: GOOG) and YouTube, Krikorian replied: “It’s obviously hard to speculate ... I think our relationships with the various content players, we’re all beyond that at this point. I think they at this point really understand we are somebody more on the friend than the foe side.”

Potential: I’d heard the deal could be worth more than the roughly $380 million official value. Krikorian wouldn’t comment on the numbers or whether that is the case—or on EchoStar’s possible plans for the company—saying simply: “I wouldn’t do this unless I thought there was some additional upside … This is definitely not the end; this is just the beginning.”