IBM, RealNetworks, link to deliver media services
Friday January 9, 12:00 am ET
SEATTLE, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Internet media and software company RealNetworks Inc. (NasdaqNM:RNWK - News) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) said on Friday that they would jointly provide services for content providers that want to set up their own Internet video and audio businesses.
Companies and organizations that aim to sell and distribute content over the Web will use RealNetworks's media server and player software to send video and audio over the Internet while IBM will provide its electronic commerce, transaction and database know-how.
"It can work with any kind of commercial model and any kind of distribution," Rob Glaser, chief executive of RealNetworks, told Reuters.
The deal, which is not exclusive, was announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Glaser said that the deal was not meant to be RealNetworks' answer to a recent agreement between digital media firm Loudeye Corp. (NasdaqSC:LOUD - News) and Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) which offered a similar way for businesses to provide a fast and relatively cheap way to launch digital music stores.
With the success of Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) iTunes online music store and growing numbers of broadband high-speed Internet users, technology companies have been scrambling to offer such know-how to consumers and businesses.
The companies said that they wanted to tap into a market that they expect to be worth as much $1 billion by 2007.
Financial terms of the deal between IBM and Seattle-based RealNetworks, which is embroiled in a lawsuit against longtime rival Microsoft, and IBM were not disclosed.
RealNetworks and Armonk, New York-based IBM said that they would design the service to be open so that other software vendors could integrate their services with the digital media platform.
RealNetworks earlier this week launched the latest version of its media player, RealPlayer 10, which has a built-in digital music store.
