James Delahunty
26 Apr 2007 19:50
Sony Corp. is to launch its rival to Google Inc.'s YouTube and other video sharing sites in Japan on Friday. The service, eyeVio, is expected to launch outside of Japan eventually but Sony wants to to gauge the reception at home before going worldwide. Last month, NBC Universal and News Corp. unveiled their plans to enter the area later this year.
"This is part of Sony's quiet software revolution," CEO Howard Stringer said at a news conference. "It's an opportunity to transmit user-generated video anywhere you want to, anytime to anybody, in a protected environment." Sony said that it would closely monitor the content uploaded to the service, hoping to avoid legal trouble.
Viacom filed a billion dollar lawsuit against YouTube, accusing it of tolerating user piracy. Sony aims to creative a service that will attract content providers and also protect the image of advertisers. "We believe there's a need for a clean and safe place where companies can place their advertisements," Sony spokesman Takeshi Honma said.
Source:
Reuters