Microsoft launches beta version of rival to YouTube

by Jennifer Whitehead, Brand Republic 19-Sep-06, 08:45

LONDON - Microsoft has launched the beta version of Soapbox, a video service it hopes will rival the hugely popular YouTube.

A latecomer to the world of user-generated video content, Microsoft's Soapbox will offer a point of difference by being integrated with other services such as the blogging service Windows Live Spaces and Windows Live Messenger.

It will also be similar to YouTube by allowing the Soapbox community to upload, share, comment on and rate videos, and embed them on their own blogs and websites.

Rob Bennett, general manager of entertainment and video services for MSN, said: "Soapbox delivers on a critical component of the MSN growth strategy of deepening audience engagement by enabling people to participate in the content experience.

"By adding a user-uploaded video service, we are rounding out our existing investments in commercially produced and original content on MSN Video."

Soapbox on MSN Video is currently an invitation only beta in the US. On the holding page, it says: "We'll send out new invitations as we expand access to the Soapbox beta over the coming weeks and months."

However, an attempt to request an invitation this morning was unsuccessful and met with the error message: "Oops. It's not anything you did -- it's us. Our site's down. Please try again later."

Meanwhile, YouTube took another step towards mainstream corporate acceptance by signing a deal with the music company Warner to share revenue from advertising that appears alongside Warner Music videos that have been uploaded to the site.

Warner said it had signed the deal because it recognised the importance of community websites like YouTube and MySpace to the entertainment industry.

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