Expectations run high for Microsoft’s up-and-coming “super browser,” Silverlight , when it comes out of beta in the coming months. It has been hailed as a Flash killer. Now Maven Networks, an Internet TV vendor, has signed on to a collaboration agreement with Microsoft for Silverlight. Maven will integrate Silverlight into its platform so content providers can easily launch Silverlight channels. This, on its own, is not so significant, but Maven is part of a growing list of partners throwing weight behind the nascent platform – and it is those partnerships that makes Silverlight so interesting. Partners that have already signed on, Microsoft says, include Netflix., Brightcove and Major League Baseball. (This despite Major League Baseball’s notorious gripe with Internet delivery options such as Sling Media.)
Meanwhile, online video blogger Dan Rayburn, asserts that Silverlight will also be a cheaper way for folks to create and push their multimedia online content. He writes:
“While cost is not always the most important factor when it comes to content creation and delivery, cost does always play into the overall decision of what platform(s) content creators will support … If Silverlight truly does allow content owners to create, encode and deliver content faster and cheaper while providing the same, if not better, user experience than Flash streaming, then Microsoft is going to have the advantage in the long run.”
Microsoft employee Sean Alexander says in his blog that Silverlight will be less expensive, not just for the development teams building content, but for the network executives who will be streaming it across their wires via Windows Media.
