MTV dumps Urge, partners with Real Networks
Cory Bergman August 20th, 2007
Wow, MTV and Real Networks’ Rhapsody service are teaming up to take on iTunes, and the new deal looks like it will put an end to MTV’s short-lived partnership with Microsoft. Reports the Wall Street Journal, “Microsoft has been heavily focused on its own Zune service in recent months, to the apparent detriment of Urge, which had few subscribers. MTV itself no longer invested significant resources in Urge after Zune’s debut, according to a person familiar with Urge.” Also, Verizon Wireless is on board for the new Rhapsody partnership, which is an interesting development in light of Cingular’s partnership with Apple on the iPhone. MTV plans to promote the new partnership extensively, especially in combination with its annual VMAs, which air on September 9th. (WSJ sub. req.)
1 Comment Add your own
1. Michael Gay | August 21st, 2007 at 4:42 am
I guess I’m one of the few people who used Urge. I loved it. I don’t use an iPod, I have a Windows-based device that syncs with Windows Media Center, so I could transfer my recorded TV shows like Daily Show or Colbert Report onto my player every morning without buying the shows. Having access to millions of songs by subscription was awesome since I would download dozens of songs at a time. This is one of the problems of subscriptions though, since all those songs will likely expire soon and I’ll be left with no music. I’ve always avoided Real Networks due to the tons of ads I felt it forced on me. Maybe it’s not so bad anymore?
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