If at first you don’t succeed...
Microsoft has announced a new TV streaming service for the UK, reports The Times. The MSN Video Player will be free to end-users, but will use advertisements at the start of each clip to generate revenue.
Initially it will feature TV content supplied by ALL3MEDIA and material from the BBC's commercial arm BBC Worldwide. But it won't be in direct competition with the BBC iPlayer, as all BBC content on MSN Video Player will be at least 180 days old.
The project is being led by Microsoft's UK consumer and online boss Ashley Highfield, who previously worked for the Beeb as its new media boss, overseeing projects like the BBC iPlayer and Project Kangaroo - an online TV project involving the BBC, ITV and Channel 4, but which was blocked by the Competition Commission earlier this year.
Talking to The Times, Highfield denied that he had been poached by Microsoft specifically to head-up this project and stressed that the MSN Video Player will function as a post-catchup service for programmes no longer available on the iPlayer.
The initial manifestation will be a beta, running for six months, after which more content suppliers are expected to be taken on. The launch comes only a week after Microsoft announced it was abandoning its attempt to take on YouTube - Soapbox, although MSN Video is still up and running.
The UK online TV-on-demand marketplace is set to get even more competitive, with giant US video streaming site Hulu expected to launch over here before the end of the year.
