The Deseret News (Salt Lake City, UT)
January 24, 2000, Monday

REDMOND, Wash. (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is taking a $56 million minority stake in Intertainer Inc., a company that streams video on demand through high-speed Internet connections.

Microsoft will receive four seats on Intertainer's board, joining investors that include NBC, U S West and Comcast. Other terms were not disclosed.

Last June Intertainer announced that it would support Microsoft's TV platform initiative, which the software giant hopes will create a Microsoft -based standard for interactive television.

"We have worked with Microsoft for months to port our content over to their television platform," said Jonathan Taplin, president and co-chief executive of Intertainer. "We believe this is a natural fit for our two companies.

The Culver City, Calif.-based Intertainer has more than 50,000 programs available to Internet users via high-speed Internet links such as digital subscriber lines or cable lines. The privately held company's videos can be accessed via personal computer or set-top boxes.

For its part, the Redmond-based Microsoft receives a showcase of its television platform and additional interactive content for its own set-top boxes.