Putting paid to the notion that what the web needs is more TV, Microsoft Corp has finally given up on its channel-model for the Microsoft Network (MSN) and has abandoned the final elements of original content on the service, in favor of existing Microsoft internet products and a set of links to third parties. It […]
Putting paid to the notion that what the web needs is more TV, Microsoft Corp has finally given up on its channel-model for the Microsoft Network (MSN) and has abandoned the final elements of original content on the service, in favor of existing Microsoft internet products and a set of links to third parties. It has abandoned entertainment for informational services, leaving America Online Inc out on its own, which is morphing day by day into a pure media company.
Redmond launched the ‘televisual’ version of MSN back in December 1996, but quickly grew tired of the concept and dropped half of the 20 ‘shows’ after just three months. It introduced 14 new ones and then quickly axed more during the summer, leaving just a handful. Microsoft says it has concluded that with the exception of games, pure entertainment is not what people find most valuable on the web. Forty Microsofties will be re-deployed throughout the company, as a result of the shake-up.
The OnStage area of MSN, which contains seven shows – including the wonderfully-named UnderWire women’s area – will cease production at the end of this month. The CineMania Online and Music Central areas will scale back through the year and will close on December 31. The company wants to emphasize that the Slate magazine and successful Gaming Zone will be unaffected. Microsoft wants to concentrate on services like those and the Expedia travel, CarPoint and Microsoft Investor services. It also stresses that it has no plans to abandon internet access provision.
