Microsoft gets down off its Soapbox

Adam Turner
Saturday, 24 March 2007 05:58

Your IT - Home IT

In the light of new content deals and Viacom's billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube, Microsoft has temporarily closed its Soapbox video sharing site to new users as it beefs up anti-piracy measures.

Only weeks after Soapbox went out of beta, a flood of unauthorised content has forced Soapbox to stop taking on members for two months as it attempts to implement tighter safegaurds to prevent the uploading of copyrighted material. A notice to users of the front page of the site reads;

Dear Soapbox users,

Thanks for helping us test the Soapbox on MSN Video beta – we’ve really appreciated the feedback we’ve gotten from our user community about the service. In order to grow and implement some important new features , Soapbox temporarily requires you to login using your Windows Live ID before you can watch or upload videos. If you don't have a Soapbox account, we'll be opening the doors again very soon with some cool new stuff to try. Thanks for your patience as we continue to build the best place to “make your statement” on the web.

The Soapbox on MSN Video Team

Microsoft plans to implement filtering technology licensed from California-based Audible Magic. The technology examines the audio track of video clips to create a unique audio signature, MySpace has a deal with Audible Magic and plans to make these tools freely available to media companies, allowing them to create audio fingerprints of their movies and television shows. Files uploaded to MySpace will then be cross checked against these lists of fingerprints.

The move comes as Microsoft follows the likes of YouTube and Joost in signing content distribution agreements with major media conglomerates. Microsoft, AOL and Yahoo have are part of a new online joint venture of with the likes of NBC Universal and News Corp.

Viacom's dissatisfaction with YouTube's anti-piracy efforts saw it sign a content deal with rival video site Joost and then slap Google-owned YouTube with a billion dollar lawsuit.

YouTube's copyright woes have not deterred others, with it striking a deal with Digital Music Group to host more than 4000 hours of classic television shows including "I Spy" and "Gumby". As part of the DMG deal, YouTube will use filters to block users from uploading videos containing songs for which DMG controls the rights.

YouTube also recently struck a deal with the NBA to create an "NBA Channel" on the site, offering game and behind-the-scenes footage. It's also encouraging fans to post videos of their own basketball feats. The agreement follows a similar deal between YouTube and the National Hockey League late last year. Chelsea F.C. also recently became the first English Premiership football club to announce a deal with YouTube.