Microsoft’s hopes of getting into television got a boost at last – from Verizon Communications, who say they plan to use Microsoft technology for their own television service.
The Microsoft platform will be used at first for interactive program guides, high-definition television, digital video recording, and Video-on-Demand for the Verizon FiOS service due to launch over a new fiberoptic network before midyear.
Verizon also wants to exploit the system’s Internet-based capabilities for more advanced interactive services in the coming months, Verizon and Microsoft said in anticipation of a more full January 31 announcement on such projects.
The word about the Verizon plan came shortly after Microsoft got a contract from SBC Communications to launch their planned television service and from BellSouth to run trials with the platform’s technology, the reports said.
The significance of these deals isn’t money – SBC is paying $400 million over 10 years, while terms of the Verizon and BellSouth deals haven’t been disclosed. But analysts say the deals could put Microsoft at the center of an expected coming full meeting between television and cyberspace.
