Microsoft unleashed a whole bunch of announcements today at CES about its television initiatives. These include new IPTV chips, a report on the progress of Mediaroom, a partnership with BT to turn Xbox into a gaming-plus-high-def-movie console and partnerships with content providers that will provide, among other things, 3000 hours of video of the 2008 Olympics. Bink.nu provided a nice recap.
Specifically:
Microsoft will work with chip maker Broadcom to create a next-gen IPTV system on a chip. Read more.
Microsoft claims that Mediaroom, its IPTV software platform for service providers, is being used on more than 1 million settop devices and that service providers are adding Mediaroom customers at a rate of two households per minute. Microsoft says more than 20 service providers are either using its IPTV platform or are testing it. Read more.
BT (formerly British Telecom) announced it will be serving up high-definition gaming, television and movies through Xbox 360 consoles by mid 2008 in an offering that allows customers to get both the console and the service through BT. In the U.S. BT isn't much of a consumer play – it offers mostly enterprise networking for global companies. But the deal is being lauded as the first of its kind, and it's not a stretch to guess that Microsoft would be working on similar deals for U.S. markets. Read more.
Microsoft announced partnership deals with Disney-ABC Television Group, NBC Universal and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios (MGM) that marry the Internet, IPTV software and broadcast television. For instance, Microsoft and NBC Universal will create NBCOlympics.com on MSN where viewers will have access to more than 3,000 hours of live and on-demand content. Viewers can create their own Olympics viewing experience. Read more.
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