Yahoo sets sights on streaming media

Yahoo is arriving late to the streaming media arena with its own products, following on the heels of RealNetworks and Microsoft.

The company said it is beta testing technology for providing audio and video content through its worldwide network of web portals. A Yahoo spokesman said the company has not yet made any formal announcement.

The trial version of Yahoo Player is currently available for download through the company's Broadcast.com website.

Through partnerships, Yahoo already offers content from 500 radio stations and 70 television stations through various web portals, and this month provided streaming online coverage of the Victoria's Secret lingerie show from France.

Meanwhile, Microsoft, which has been locked in a battle with Seattle-based RealNetworks, the early leader in streaming media, recently unveiled revamped software for playing audio and video over the internet. The latest version of Windows Media Player handles tasks that previously required at least two pieces of software. Other options include allowing users to customise the look of their player and a big 'play' button.

RealNetworks launched its all-in-one media software this week with the release of RealPlayer 8 - delivering full-motion video to consumers using dial-up modems. New capabilities include MP3, Flash 4, 3D computer-generated video and virtual ad insertion.

Similar to RealPlayer 8, the Yahoo Player supports scrolling pages, forms and buttons, giving it the look and feel of a web browser. It also provides an array of web page-viewing capabilities directly in the player interface.

Yahoo is not the only web company pushing hard into the streaming media arena. America Online (AOL) last year bought online music programmer Spinner.com and technology developer Nullsoft. AOL also owns MP3 player Winamp. The deals at that time were considered by some analysts to be a tepid response to Yahoo's planned acquisition of streaming media aggregator Broadcast.com.

Jeremy Schwartz, an analyst at Forrester Research, said: "Music is becoming a big thing on the net and sites like Yahoo are wanting to provide the range of services that their customers are looking for."