SBC & Micorsoft To Deliver TV Via Broadband

From The New York Times: "SBC Communications, as part of its effort to compete head-on with the cable industry for television subscribers, plans to announce today that it will pay $400 million to Microsoft for software used to deliver TV programming over high-speed data lines.

"It would be a crucial move into unproven territory for SBC, which like the other regional telephone giants wants to grow by expanding beyond phone and Internet services and into entertainment…

"The deal is also a milestone for Microsoft. The company has spent roughly $20 billion in the last decade trying to break into the television business, but has little to show for that investment, industry analysts said…

"Consumers will potentially have hundreds of channels to choose from, although the delivery of that programming will be different from cable’s. All IP-TV programs will be delivered as video-on-demand — consumers request a program from a central server and it is delivered immediately…

"Microsoft’s technology will also make it easier for SBC to offer TV programming to its customers on a variety of devices that might eventually include cellphones and personal digital assistants, when wireless speeds become fast enough.

Read this entire New York Times article here.  (Free log-in required.)