Liz Gannes over at NewTeeVee reports that SonicMountain, the company that recently acquired the once-hyped podcasting startup Odeo, has purchased FireAnt, a stagnating Internet video startup.

FireAnt is a desktop media player and RSS aggregator for Windows and Mac. With an integrated guide to Internet TV, the FireAnt player lets users subscribe to, download, and watch videos in multiple media formats, and synchronize video with portable devices, including iPod, PSP, Zen, Archos, Zune, and mobile phones.

FireAnt has suffered from the fact that YouTube provides a larger selection of video content, without the need to install an application. FireAnt’s also an alternative to iTunes that’s not a better alternative for most iPod/iPhone users.

It’s¬†proven to be¬†very tough¬†for any portable media software or directory to gain much traction against Apple’s offerings. Apple has managed to deliver the features and reliability that people want, along with iPod/iPhone integration that only Apple can deliver.

Gannes notes that SonicMountain is also looking to acquire Blogdigger, a blog/podcast search site. It remains to be seen if the sum of these startups is more than the parts.