[London, ENGLAND] Seeking to extend its reach in
Europe’s streaming media markets, Microsoft Corp.
announced Wednesday a whole range of new relationships
including 50 new Windows Media Service Providers.
Companies that have committed to Microsoft’s media
technologies, Windows Media Service Providers now
number around 300 worldwide. The new members are
spread throughout Europe in 11 countries — Belgium,
Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway,
Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Will Poole, vice president of Microsoft’s Windows
Digital Media Division, made the announcements of
Microsoft’s lastest European moves in a keynote
speech at the Streaming Media Europe 2000 conference
in London.
“The new relationships unveiled today will bring to
millions of European users the great quality,
scalability and reliability of Windows Media,”
claimed Poole, noting that the product comes in
over 25 languages.
Other key relationships announced by Microsoft in
Europe include many new agreements with leading European
and multinational music labels, content delivery
networks and content providers.
Companies that are taking up the Windows Media Format
for new streamed audio, video and distribution of
major films via the Internet include Sony Music
Entertainment Europe; Pathe subsidiary Netcine,
and French radio webcaster Yacast.
Sony Music Entertainment Europe will cooperate with
Microsoft in setting up a streamed European music
video channel at bit rates suitable for dial-up
as well as broadband users. The service will be
available in German and Swedish and will launch
in November.
Netcine plans to release 1,000 movies via the
Internet from Pathe’s library of films, as part
of a new video-on-demand service.
Yacast will offer webcasts of some leading radio
stations in France such as RTL, RTL2, Skyrock and
Fun Radio, again using the Microsoft technology.
Microsoft also reports that content-delivery networks
Global TeleSystems (GTS) and Servecast.com are both
using Windows Media Services running on Windows 2000
Server to build their new content-delivery services.
Adding support to the Microsoft push, Servecast.com
said it will promote Windows Media Technologies while
developing its video and audio broadcast network
infrastructure in Europe. Servecast.com said it
expects to have 16 European points of presence by
March, 2001.
With its huge investment in language localization,
Microsoft is now getting ready to reap some of the
rewards, judging by the sheer quantity of digital
media news it has been able to issue at this week’s
London conference.
