BBC Worldwide joins with Microsoft for VoD service

Valerie | 31 Jul 2009, 06:00


(Guardian)

Microsoft has moved into the online television market by signing a deal with BBC Worldwide and All3Media to offer, free, up to 60 popular shows in their entirety via its new MSN Video Player service, the Times reports.

Internet TV streaming is becoming increasingly popular, particularly in the UK, where the BBC iPlayer catch-up service regularly deals with over 40 million programme requests per month.

Looking to fill the void left by the defunct Project Kangaroo and stealing a march on rivals such as Hulu which is due to launch its VoD service in the UK later this year, Microsoft’s move is the latest in the escalating battle over how people watch television over the internet.  Last month, broadcast company Arqiva joined the market by confirming its acquisition of Project Kangaroo.

However, unlike the advertising free iPlayer, which is funded by the TV licence, the MSN Video Player will be a commercial project. Half-hour programmes will be preceded by short commercials, while programmes of one hour or longer will be interrupted by a commercial break. The service will only be available to viewers in the UK.

Some experts believe the system could do for TV what free music service Spotify has done for online music, and attract millions of users.

Tom Dunmore of Stuff magazine said:

“If Microsoft do it right, this could be the Spotify moment for TV. However, the key is the content, and you’ve got to compete with the iPlayer, which is a hard thing to do.

“Microsoft also needs to make sure they can attract enough advertisers, or the entire project will fail. But there is no doubt people are now used to watching TV on their computer, and that this is going to be a huge market.”