Following the signing of an agreement, Europe’s
leading
audio and data service Music Choice will be included as a branded
channel over the broadband, data broadcast platforms deployed by The
Fantastic Corp.
As a result, Fantastic’s customers and partners–among them BT, Telecom
Italia, Deutsche Telekom and
Astra-Net–will be able to offer the Music Choice channel to their
subscribers.
End-users of the services need to have their PCs tuned into or
connected to high-speed data broadcasting networks (such as cable
modem, ADSL or digital satellite). Broadband delivery ensures that
audio quality is equal to that of CDs or FM, with the added advantage
of on-screen information about each track being played. Users can click
to discover song title, artist, and record label details. The
music is available non-stop, twenty-four hours a day.
“A Music Choice Broadcast Object will be offered as an ‘off the shelf’
solution for
corporate customers,” said Lars Tvede, senior VP for The Fantastic Corp. A
Broadcast Object is a standalone package for insertion into private
broadcast networks.
“The Fantastic Corp.’s software platform is ideal for combining streaming
media with the possibility to transact via the Internet,” said Simon
Balzalgetter, director of sales and marketing for Music Choice. “We are
very impressed with what they enable us to do and
look forward to launching our channel over their platform.”
Music Choice Europe is a multi-million pound venture between Sony,
Warner and BskyB which delivers up to 50 genre-specific channels of
commercial-free music programming to cable and satellite operators. It
has half a million subscribers in Europe.
The Fantastic Corp., headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, with
offices in New York, London, Paris, Hamburg and Singapore, provides
IP-based broadcasting software for high-speed multimedia distribution.