ITV

Tag: MSN

  • BBC, Microsoft in content alliance

    BBC, Microsoft in content alliance

    MUMBAI: UK pubcaster The BBC and software major Microsoft have signed a nonexclusive memorandum of understanding (MoU).

    This will define the framework within which the companies can explore opportunities for the delivery and consumption of BBC content and the evolution of next-generation broadcasting.

    BBC DG Mark Thompson and BBC director of new media and technology Ashley Highfield met Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates to officially sign the memorandum of understanding and discuss the BBC’s digital strategy. This includes plans for its online archive, for a radically re-invented Web site in the Web 2.0 world — a second generation of Internet-based services — and for ways to share its online content in the future.

    Thompson said, “We are currently witnessing unprecedented rates of change in technology and audience expectations. To ensure that the BBC is able to embrace the creative challenges of the digital future, we need to forge strategic partnerships with technology companies and distributors for the benefit of licence payers.”

    Gates says, “Microsoft’s strength is in driving digital innovation, and our vision is to open up rich, new consumer experiences that allow people to enjoy digital content anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

    “This vision fits squarely with the BBC’s charter to lead the industry in delivering content that is compelling and accessible. I’m delighted that we’re taking this important step, and I look forward to working together to develop new models for content delivery and consumption.”

    Highfield said, “Microsoft is not just a key supplier to the BBC, it is also a key gateway to audiences that the BBC needs to reach through Web services it runs like MSN and Windows Live(TM) Messenger, and hardware such as Xbox and the Windows Media Center. The BBC needs to work with all players in this space to make sure our programmes and content are enjoyed by the widest possible audience, without always having to come to bbc.co.uk to find it. The learnings from our US visit will very much inform our thinking on the BBC’s creative future.”

    The MoU aims to identify areas of common interest between the BBC and Microsoft on which a strategic alliance could be developed. Areas of potential investigation and collaboration include search and navigation, distribution, and content enablement. Any actual procurements of new technology, or launch of new services by the BBC, would be subject to appropriate regulatory approval.

  • MSN and Control Room take music performances to Europe

    MSN and Control Room take music performances to Europe

    MUMBAI: MSN, a leader in delivering compelling entertainment to Indian consumers, anounced a multiyear global content distribution agreement with Control Room, the No 1 provider of live digital entertainment and the producers of Live 8.

    The partnership will see MSN as the exclusive online worldwide destination for Control Room’s live music programming, via live and on-demand streaming.

    Officially launching in the UK on 2 October, the agreement means that nearly 465 million visitors to MSN worldwide, including millions of fans in India will have access to an exclusive performance from John Legend.

    The multiple-award-winning singer, songwriter and pianist’s live Royal Albert Hall performance will be available at http://msn.co.in/johnlegend from 16.00 GMT. Additional artists already scheduled to appear on MSN through the relationship with Control Room include Rod Stewart from the Nokia Theater in NYC and John Mayer from Webster Hall in NYC.

    The partnership will further allow visitors to MSN video ongoing access to live concerts from the most popular, top-selling musical artists as well as today’s most talked-about breakthrough acts.

    “With the video content market surging as it has been in the last year since Live 8, we have proven that there is a robust market for a company like ours to change the way live entertainment is consumed, now and in the future,” said CEO of Control Room Kevin Wall.

    “With MSN, we have found a global partner that sees the value and profit in providing our rich and cutting-edge live entertainment content to its consumers worldwide,”added Wall.

    General Manager for the MSN Network Greg Nelson said,”With this collaboration, artists now have an extremely valuable, cohesive, global marketing and promotion avenue to reach and connect with fans worldwide, while in turn it creates another key access point for consumers to get high-quality content from the musicians they love.”

    With this agreement in place, MSN and Control Room will embark upon a deep, exclusive content collaboration, combining Control Room’s expertise in creating and delivering live music events for cross-media distribution with the feature-rich video programming of MSN and its global reach and branded entertainment appeal to advertisers.

    Further, through this agreement, Microsoft Corp. may stream Control Room shows to other platforms, including Xbox Live, MSN Messenger, Microsoft Windows Media Player and Windows XP Media Center Edition.

    The Control Room team will leverage its deep and broad experiences, relationships and skills accrued while creating and digitally distributing more than 59 shows in the past year to deliver high-quality live music programming to MSN. Control Room maintains the same seasoned management team, many of whom worked on the now historic Live 8, and also continues content distribution relationships with television, radio, theatrical and retail partners worldwide.

  • Yahoo partners with Al Gore’s Current TV for online video venture

    Yahoo partners with Al Gore’s Current TV for online video venture

    MUMBAI: To explore the huge potential that the user-generated content offers in an online environment, Yahoo Inc. has associated with the US-based media company Current TV, promoted by former US vice president Al Gore, to create online video programmes.

    The service, christened the Yahoo Current Network (video.yahoo.com/currenttv) will launch on 20 September with four channels.

    One of the channels named Current Buzz will feature segments related to the news. The other channels will cover travel, sports and cars.

    According to a New York Times report, each channel will have one professionally produced segment a day and about 10 segments designed by users. Amateur videographers whose clips are chosen for online delivery will receive $100. If a clip is also broadcast on Current’s television network, the producer will receive between $500 and $1,000.

    The development underlines the market’s keenness towards web-based user-generated content. Microsoft on Tuesday announced its entry into the segment with the beta release of Soapbox on MSN Video. With this, Microsoft plans to take on YouTube, the market leader.

  • MSN revamps India portal; adds 4 new channels, extra features

    MSN revamps India portal; adds 4 new channels, extra features

    MUMBAI: Portal MSN India is celebrating six years in the country. On this occasion it has launched a new home page with four channels – lifestyle, entertainment, news and sports. It has also added new feature rich services — Windows Live Domains, Windows Live Messenger and Windows Live Search.

    MSN country head Jaspreet Bindra says that the home page has a more vibrant and friendly user interface. The graphics have been improved upon. “As part of our six-year celebration, MSN India decided to give our users something to celebrate about as well. We now have a new cool and exciting home page. In addition to this, we bring in four new improved channels that offer users the best insight on Entertainment, News, Sports and Lifestyle. We have also decided to launch a whole new range of Windows Live products for the users in India,” he says.

    The entertainment section has news on Bollywood, Hollywood and South Indian movies. There are also reviews of movies currently running in theatres as well as music reviews.

    The sports channel covers all the latest happenings in sport from cricket to football and tennis. There is also a news in pics section. There is also a player search section. This allows a user to search for sites featuring sporting icons.

    The lifestyle section offers information on fashion, health and fitness. It also provides tit bits on how to carry yourself at work and how to improve one’s relationship.

    The fourth channel, which is the news and business channel, offers updates on news from acros the globe. There are also polls where users can make their voices be heard. It will of course also cover the ups and downs of the stock market.

    MSN is also looking to generate content of its own. For this purpose it has hired a team of writers. It is also looking to get pieces written by experts in different fields. This should be up in about two months time. This will consist of opinions and viewpoints on a variety of topics.

    MSN is also hoping to get user generated content. So someone who writes for fun for instance can write a story on an actor. If it gets enough reads then the editorial team can decide to give it a push on the site. It could become one of the main stories in the entertainment section. In addition MSN India is also looking at syndicated content deals.

    MSN India has also launched Windows Live Messenger. This is the next generation of MSN messenger and goes beyond text and helps people connect wiith voice, video etc. MSN India has also introduced Live Search. There is a new design, more search categories and also people customise their search results by preferences. For instance one can decide if one wants 10 results in a page or 100.

    Another feature is MSN Live Domains. new users can create domain names and then create an unlimited ammount of free email accounts. Everyone on the user’s domain gets a hotmail account which can be upgraded to Windows live Mail beta for free. The email addresses on the domain is a passport ID and can be used to access services like instant messenger.

    Speaking on Windows Live Domains, MSN India and Windows Live head of programming Krishna Prasad said, “With MSN’s anniversary celebrations we are also gifting to our users a chance to get their preferred email ids. This email id would be a customised mail id, supported by Windows Live Mail and which also gives the users access to the Windows Live network. All in all, we want to enhance the user experience as best we can.”

    Then there is MSN Live Spaces. This is the next generation of MSN’s blogging service. Users can manage their settings so that they can control who is in their social network and who views their site.

  • Fox to offer an online preview of new season of ‘The Simpsons’

    Fox to offer an online preview of new season of ‘The Simpsons’

    MUMBAI: As a way to whet fans appetitie for the new season of the longest running sitcom The Simpsons, US broadcaster Fox along with sister firm Fox Interactive Media (FIM) are offering fans a glimpse of the show on the web.

    Through a campaign sponsored by Burger King, FIM sites will offer a promotional first look at the first episode.

    In a Simpsons first, online fans on three FIM sites including MySpace.com, Fox.com and IGN.com’s new site will have the exclusive opportunity to see the first seven minutes of the first episode before it airs on television. In addition, viewers will get to see footage of an episode in the making including an animatic and the finished scene.

    Across the FIM network, a marketing campaign will drive fans to the video debut and promote tune in for the broadcast. Promotional initiatives specific to each property include: AskMen.com becoming “AskHomer” for the day and profiling Homer as the site’s Man of the Week; FoxSports.com on MSN presenting Homer’s week one NFL picks; a “Simpsons”-style graphic takeover of the homepage on Rotten Tomatoes and much more. The promotion will culminate with The Simpsons season premiere on 10 September.

    Fox president entertainment Peter Ligouri says, “This sneak peek at The Simpsons’ 18th season is a huge bonus for dedicated fans. Being able to preview the first episode of the new season will surely whet viewers’ appetite for the premiere on Sunday.”

    FIM president Ross Levinsohn says, “We are thrilled to be able to offer an exclusive first look at the Simpsons to our core audience of 18-34 year olds, who have embraced this show as one of the most popular TV programs of our time.

    “We are seeing an increasing demand for video content across FIM sites, and we are focused on delivering that content in a variety of ways – blending established media and user-generated content in a meaningful way.”

    Simpsons fans can visit MySpace, www.igntv.com and Fox.com to get the first look at the first episode before it airs on 10 September. Additional Simpsons features and promotions can also be accessed at www.rottentomatoes.com and www.scout.com in addition to the other three sites.

    The Simpsons will air their historic 400th episode in May 2007. The series features Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpson who take traditional family life and turn them upside down.

  • Website marketing firm Intralink launches Search Engine TV

    Website marketing firm Intralink launches Search Engine TV

    MUMBAI: The US-based website marketing and internet market research firm Intralink has launched Search Engine Television, a weekly video stream of the latest on search engine news and website marketing tips, suggestions and processes.

    The first episode is an overview of the current state of the search engine market with a focus on Google, Yahoo and MSN. The first episode also offers interim results of Intralink’s next search engine relevance report due to be released on 2 October, as per an official release.

    The next episode will be released on 18 August at 6 pm (Eastern time) and discusses the latest trends in new media marketing, website marketing and the integration of traditional marketing methods and website marketing, the release adds.

  • Global broadband households will more than double between 2005 and 2010: InStat

    Global broadband households will more than double between 2005 and 2010: InStat

    MUMBAI: Worldwide broadband households will more than double between 2005 and 2010, growing from about 194 million in 2005 to more than 413 million by 2010.

    Market research firm In-Stat notes that of all broadband households today, 12.8 per cent are already regularly viewing professional content via online content aggregators.

    Traditional broadcast TV networks are finally figuring out that they need to capitalise on “all this personalization stuff” or they will have deep trouble ahead.

    The Pay-TV services have realised that personalisation is the trend for the future, and they won’t be left behind while TV keeps expanding onto the Internet.

    Although online content aggregators are in the early experimentation stages of rolling out video services, they will have some dramatic revenue-generating opportunities in the next five year. The worldwide market for online content services is expected to expand by a factor of 10, growing from about 13 million households during 2005 to more than 131 million households by 2010, the high-tech market research firm says.

    In-Stat analyst Gerry Kaufhold says, “AOL, Google, Yahoo!, MSN, Apple, major broadcast TV networks, Pay-TV services and local TV stations are all working on ways to blend their video assets with personalised TV services.

    “The future of television is slowly being defined online, where the big Internet portals are finding ways to blend professional video with their high-touch services that follow consumers from screen to screen during the course of a typical day.”

    Although there has been much hype about multimedia home networks, low-cost portable storage devices that can move content throughout the home via sneakernet may win the favour of consumers because luggable media provides low-cost, high availability and convenience.

  • Time Warner to offer AOL service free-of-cost

    Time Warner to offer AOL service free-of-cost

    MUMBAI: What is perceived as a last ditch attempt to save its sinking internet business initiative AOL, Time Warner has decided to switch the service to free-to-access mode from September.

    With this move, AOL will attempt to transform itself into a full-fledged online media business venture, banking purely on advertising revenue and competing directly with rivals in this space Google, Yahoo and MSN. Approximately $2 billion subscriber revenue, which the company will miss now with the move, is expected to be made up in advertising.

    Time Warner will be implementing the free service in September this year. Former customers will be able to reactivate their accounts for free when the effort takes effect in September. According to industry estimates, AOL has lost a third of its subscribers since 2002.

    This is the next logical step for AOL to capitalize further on the explosive rise in broadband usage and online advertising. With its robust and rapidly expanding advertising operation, we expect to put AOL back on a growth path,” Time Warner president Jeff Bewkes has been quoted in media reports as saying.

  • Yahoo! & Microsoft to merge online chat services

    Yahoo! & Microsoft to merge online chat services

    MUMBAI: In a significant development that the web business space witnessed, Yahoo! and Microsoft announced limited public beta testing of interoperability between their instant messaging (IM) services.

    This would enable users of Windows Live Messenger, the Next Generation MSN Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger with Voice to connect with each other.

    To be made available to their consumers in the coming months, this interoperability between the two global consumer IM providers is expected to form the world’s largest consumer IM community, approaching 350 million accounts, informs an official release.

    Consumers worldwide from Microsoft and Yahoo! will be able to join the limited public beta program and exchange instant messages across the free services, see their friends’ online presence, view personal status messages, share select emoticons, view offline messages and add new contacts from either service at no cost.

    The new beta program will be rolled out in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (English and French), China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Turkey, the UK and US (English and Spanish).

    Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger with voice users in the US and more than 15 international markets can register to participate in the IM interoperability beta by visiting Yahoo! at http://messenger.yahoo.com or Microsoft at http://ideas.live.com, adds the release.

    Microsoft’s Windows Live Platform corporate vice president Blake Irving comments about the landmark agreement, “This first-of-its-kind interoperability between consumer IM leaders Microsoft and Yahoo! gives our customers tremendous control, convenience and freedom in their Web communication experiences with Windows Live. We’re proud to deliver this latest advancement in IM services that empower people to communicate with virtually whomever they want, wherever they want and whenever they want.”

    “Interoperability between IM services has consistently topped our users’ wish lists, and through the collaborative efforts between Yahoo! and Microsoft we are delighted to provide our combined global users with the ultimate IM experience. A new era for staying connected with friends and family is here, and the bridge between Yahoo!’s and Microsoft’s IM communities is bringing people around the world closer together,” adds Yahoo! Communications, Community and Front Doors senior VP Brad Garlinghouse.

  • Singapore TV personality Allan Wu to host AXN’s Amazing Race Asia edition

    Singapore TV personality Allan Wu to host AXN’s Amazing Race Asia edition

    MUMBAI: One of the action oriented AXN’s biggest on ground initiatives for this year is The Amazing Race Asia. Like its American counterpart, the reality show will see contestants from different Asian countries running from one location to another on specified modes of transport to emerge as a winner and get $100,000.

    The host of the show will be Singapore-based TV personality Allan Wu. He has in the past participated in the US reality series Fear Factor which also airs on AXN. As had been reported a few months ago by indiantelevision.com, over 1,000 teams had applied to participate in the race.

    As a marketing initiative, AXN will conduct a series of road shows in the region to engage the public. AXN will be holding the Amazing Race Fan Tour from July to October. The places it will visit are Delhi on 8 October, Korea on 8 July, Bangkok on 5 August, Singapore on 26 August, Kuala Lumpur on 9 September and Manila on 30 September.

    AXN says that it was searching for a host that could not only relate to various Asian cultures but who would be able to keep up with the intense physical demands of the race.

    SPE Networks Asia GM Ricky Ow says, “Having participated in another world-class TV show, Allan Wu understands what it takes to be the host of The Amazing Race Asia. He embodies the spirit of AXN and The Amazing Race Asia. As a big fan of The Amazing Race, Allan will be able to give interesting insight to the Asian version of this hit reality show.

    “And it doesn’t hurt that Allan is easy on the eyes. His good looks and natural charisma will offer a different appeal from the US version, and will definitely ‘Wu’ new fans for The Amazing Race Asia.”

    AXN has also announced a raft of sponsors for the event. They are Malaysia Tourism and Promotion Board, and the regional sponsors are: Official Camera Partner – Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd, Official Airline Partner – AirAsia, Caltex, MSN, Official Mobile Partner – Nokia, and Official Hospitality Partner – Bintan Lagoon Resort and Bintan Resorts. Ford is a local sponsor.

    Production on The Amazing Race Asia finished last month. Post-production work will shortly commence and the show will air in 13 episodes across Asia later in the year.

    Each team comprises of two people with a pre-existing relationship like husband – wife, mother – daughter.

    As with the US version, participants will be perpetually guessing their next destination as venturing into the unknown has always been the entertaining hallmark of the show. This sense of the unknown puts everyone on a level playing field.