REDMOND, Wash., Aug. 5, 1997 — Microsoft Corp. today announced that ITV.Net has joined the growing ranks of broadcasters using the Microsoft® NetShow
™
server for streaming audio, video and mixed multimedia on the Internet. ITV.Net was selected by Microsoft to broadcast today’s NetShow 2.0 kick-off event. In addition, ITV.Net will use NetShow to broadcast dozens of events this summer including the first complete ski descent of Mount Everest, the Greenwich Village Jazz Festival and the Whitbread Round-the-World Sailing Race.
“ITV.Net believes that a streaming multimedia standard has finally emerged for the Internet – Microsoft NetShow,” said William Mutual, president and CEO of ITV.Net. “Over the last three years, ITV.Net has provided webcasting using all leading video streaming technologies. We have now made the decision to exclusively use NetShow for our Internet broadcasting. Its superior capabilities in several key areas drove our decision to standardize, including production-quality broadcasts, ease of use, reliability and integration of the player with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0.”
ITV.Net selected NetShow over other streaming multimedia software because it meets the high requirements of both broadcasters and users. “We are very pleased that ITV.Net chose to standardize on Microsoft NetShow for delivery of its exciting Internet broadcasts,” said Jim Durkin, product unit manager in the Internet services business unit at Microsoft. “As a leader in Internet TV broadcasting, ITV.Net’s adoption of NetShow is further proof that that NetShow is the multimedia streaming technology of choice for broadcasting high-quality content over the Internet and intranets.”
ITV.Net is the latest of thousands of broadcasting, corporate and Web developer customers to adopt Microsoft’s multimedia streaming technology. To date, more than 11 million NetShow players and 40,000 NetShow servers have been downloaded. ITV.Net expects millions of viewers for its summer series of NetShow-based events, which can be experienced at http://www.itv.net/ .
Highlights from the ITV.Net broadcast list include the Molson Indy Car Race, Toronto; the first complete ski descent of Mount Everest, Himalayas, China and Nepal; Sturgis Rally and Races (Hell’s Angels), South Dakota; Greenwich Village Jazz Festival, New York; Rave Network, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, New York, San Diego and Vancouver, British Columbia; Burning Man Festival, Nevada desert; Telluride World Music Festival, Colorado; Whitbread Round-the World Sailing Race; South American Extreme Skiing Championships, Argentina; and the Fourth International Conference of the Visual Arts, Vancouver, British Columbia.
ITV.Net is the market leader in Internet broadcasting. Founded in 1995, the company established itself the leader in the innovation and application of video services over the Internet. ITV.Net operates a global, 24-hour Internet TV station, as well as offering webcast services for live events. A few of the major events covered by ITV.Net include the 1997 Grammy and Tony awards ceremonies, Broadway play openings, the Cannes Film Festival, the launch of the U2 World Tour, and World Extreme Ski Championships.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
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