MSNBC Goes Broadband

REDMOND, WASH. - MSNBC.com
will amalgamate all of its broadband content at a new interactive news page: highspeed.msnbc.com. The sub-site will bring together video clips and other interactive features pulled from MSNBC, NBC News, CNBC, NBC Sports and other partners.

MSNBC.com plans to carry more than 60 on-demand video clips each day, which range from 30 seconds to eight minutes, said John Nicol, general manager of MSNBC.com. Clips will also be available in an automatic cycle format.

MSNBC.com saw a fourfold increase in streaming media downloads in 2000, paced by the Summer Olympics and presidential election coverage. That caused the company to upgrade its internal technology to handle the traffic and widen its relationship with Akamai Technologies Inc., Nicol said.

Each time there was a major development on election night, Nicol said, the MSNBC.com web site "got pummeled with viewers," searching for more news and video clips. "This is what the medium was made for."