News
SKorea's Daum, Microsoft To Work on IPTV
Daum Communications Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Celrun Co. said Tuesday they
were setting up a joint venture to offer Internet protocol television services
in South Korea.
The joint venture will be established in February, the three companies said
in a press release.
Details, including their respective stakes in the new entity, had yet to be
decided, they said. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Daum, South Korea's second-largest Web portal and search engine company, will
develop the IPTV content, while Microsoft will offer the latest version of its
Internet television software platform, Microsoft Mediaroom, the release said.
Celrun, a Korean digital device maker, will provide set-top boxes and other
digital devices, the release said.
"Microsoft will also use its global network to bring the services overseas,"
Yoo Jae-sung, general manager at Microsoft Korea Inc., said at a press conference.
Asia's technology companies, looking for a new source of revenue, are spending
large amounts of cash developing IPTV services, offering real-time television
programs and interactive services such as e-commerce over the Internet.
The joint venture plans to launch a pre-IPTV service, which excludes real-time
broadcasting, in July with a view to offering full-blown Internet TV services
in December, the three companies said in the statement.
Once the business takes off, they can share content with some 20 overseas network
operators, including Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and AT&T Inc., which
use the same Microsoft Mediaroom platform, it said.