Entertainment Microsoft strategy
Microsoft is interested in the online video market. It is not a scoop, as Microsoft has tried for a while to enter the market. But Microsoft is Microsoft and does not want a me-too strategy, duplicating the business model of video-sharing sites such as YouTube or MySpace. Microsoft has thought and found an innovative approach, doubled with a mass consumer target: broadcast free concerts on its MSN portal. It has made an exclusive deal with Control Room, a well-known Internet entertainment broadcaster. 36 concerts should be broadcasted in a year, the first one is scheduled on Oct 2nd with the John Legend concert. The benefit of this strategy is triple: millions of people can be reached, it can generate related new (and huge) ad revenues (MSN targets to quadruple ad revenues), and it is a strong differentiating strategy addressing the mass market.