MAY 25, 2000, M2 Communications - ORLANDO, Fla. -- Today at the ISPCON Spring 2000 trade show in Orlando, Will Poole, vice president of the Digital Media Division at Microsoft Corp., announced that 26 content providers have joined the Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative, bringing the total number of initiative members to more than 100. Jumpstart members also reported strong growth in the demand for Windows Media content optimized for broadband. The Jumpstart initiative is an end-to-end, industrywide effort to accelerate the consumer adoption of broadband technology, increase the availability of broadband content and improve broadband business models.
"Broadband is already changing the way people use their computers for entertainment, and the members of the Jumpstart initiative are leading the charge," said Poole. "Working together on the common goal of moving the industry as a whole forward, Jumpstart members are bringing more great content to the Web more reliably than ever before." In just eight months, the Microsoft Windows Media Jumpstart initiative has raised awareness of high-speed Internet access and helped remove technological obstacles to delivering the high-quality digital audio and video experience made possible by broadband. By bringing together companies from across the digital media industry, including content providers, encoding companies, content distribution networks and broadband access providers, the initiative makes possible high-traffic Internet streaming events such as the recent webcast of the Kingdome implosion, for which 56 percent of streams were delivered at 128Kbps or faster. As customer demand grows for high-quality broadband content, the Jumpstart initiative fosters the industry cooperation necessary to deliver broadband content reliably and at lower cost.
"Broadband demand is just soaring," said Tom Gillis, vice president of marketing at iBEAM Broadcasting Corp., an Internet broadcast network and a founding Jumpstart member. "We saw the promise in the Broadband Jumpstart initiative, and now we're watching it deliver.
With the help of Windows Media, the consumer experience has improved and there's more content to choose from." Content Compels Growth New content providers include 88HIPHOP.COM, AtomicPop.com, BMG Music, BreakTV.com, Centerseat.com, ChoiceRadio.com, CineMamaniaNetwork.com, DiscJockey.Com Inc., EarthAtNiteTV.com, GolfSpan.com Inc., Hitplay Media Inc., How To Web TV, Maxbaseball.com, Medium4Music.com, NicheTV.com, Oasistv.com, OBCTV.COM, Rascalscomedyclub.com, Spikeradio.com, sports3.com, StreamingUSA.com, VBIC, WarpRadio.com Inc., WebFN, wildbrain.com Inc. and ZoieFilms.com. They join the 47 providers already participating in the Jumpstart initiative. Members are listed in the Broadband Guide on WindowsMedia.com (http://WindowsMedia.com/), the most comprehensive and popular Web site for high-quality Windows Media-formatted audio and video content.
Jumpstart members report dramatic increases in consumer demand for broadband content in recent months, fueled in large part by exposure on the WindowsMedia.com Broadband Guide.
"What Microsoft has done is create a broadband 'main street' where surfers can window-shop for the best streaming video on the Internet," said Tony Nassour, creative director, BreakTV.com. "We have seen substantial increases in traffic since the program started - BreakTV's page views are now in the millions." Centerseat Inc.'s Centerseat.com, which offers live events and genre programming over the Internet, has seen a 40 percent increase in demand for broadband content since joining the Jumpstart initiative in March. An exclusive broadband interview with John Travolta recently drew more than 180,000 requests in a single day, and a "Celebrity Central" program featuring Victoria's Secret model Heidi Klum generated more than 196,000 requests in a single day.
Victoria Weston, founder of recent Jumpstart member ZoieFilms.com, reports similar eye-catching results for two film shorts recently featured in the WindowsMedia.com Broadband Guide: a piece on Johnny Cash drew more than 157,000 viewers; and an animated short called "The Dentist" drew more than 170,000 viewers. "Microsoft has created an ideal marriage between its new Windows Media Player 7 software and the media guide showcasing original, high-quality programs," Weston said.
Availability and Participation More information on the Windows Media Broadband Jumpstart initiative, including information on joining, is available at msdnisv.microsoft.com. |
