video players will be rolled out on a number of Web sites on
Wednesday, including celebrity news destination "Entertainment
Tonight," in a sign of the growing rivalry between the software giant
and Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE.O).
At the moment, Adobe's Flash player is used by Google Inc's (GOOG.O)
YouTube and other sites for nearly instant Web video watching, making
it a key player in a market that Microsoft's Silverlight is targeting.
Microsoft, which released the plug-in media player to the Web on
Wednesday, said it will cooperate with Novell Inc (NOVL.O) to make
Silverlight work with Linux in the future, as it does with Apple Inc's
(AAPL.O) operating system.
Brian Goldfarb, group product manager at Microsoft, said the company
is in talks with online DVD rental company Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) to
power its new Web-based streaming video feature. He said Microsoft
could also strike accords with a number of media companies looking to
put more content -- video and otherwise -- online.
Using Silverlight, Microsoft aims to appeal to content companies with
lower costs for media delivery, because it integrates with existing
Web technology. It is also compatible with the company's Windows Media
format.
In the case of "Entertainment Tonight," Silverlight will be used to
show content such as videos from Hollywood awards shows that do not
make it onto the television program, Executive Producer Linda Bell
Blue said.
Another media company, HSN, formerly known as Home Shopping Network,
launched a Silverlight-enabled site, hsn.tv, earlier this week with a
large-screen player. a live video stream and search features.
Later this year, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment will also
incorporate the Microsoft product. It now has a "teaser" video product
on its site, wwe.com, to encourage users to download the Silverlight
plug-in, said WWE Creative Director Ross Angert.
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