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Media player row: Will the EU read between the lines?

David Berlind ZDNet.com

Published: 07 Jan 2004 12:45 GMT

Theoretically, a vicious circle ensues. As more content becomes available for one player versus the others, any hope of the others catching up is dashed. In the case of WMP's integration into Windows, that vicious circle runs the additional risk of hurting operating systems (Macintosh, Linux, PalmOS, etc.) that don't have the richest and timeliest support for WMP compared to Microsoft's operating systems and technologies (Windows, PocketPC, X-Box, etc.).

Despite a gag order on the EU's proceedings, the Reuters story reported that Microsoft argued the validity of an EU survey indicating that companies would not spend the extra money necessary to offer their content in other formats, such as RealPlayer and Apple's QuickTime. According to the news report, "Microsoft dismissed the Commission's survey as anecdotal and not statistically valid, adding that companies could afford the cost of offering more than one format."

If the report is true, then Microsoft appears to be suggesting that cost is not a factor when choosing which media players to support.

That notion is ludicrous. The cost of supporting multiple media players versus just one is not insignificant. A financial barrier exists to developing content for any but the most popular player, and it's reasonable to conclude that WMP's market prevalence, due to its inclusion in the most popular desktop operating system, makes it economically unfeasible for competing players to compete, much less flourish in an open market.

As a side note, this doesn't mean that the remedy is to remove WMP from Windows.

Before checking in with some multimedia content developers to get their perspective, I checked with Microsoft to confirm the report by Reuters. Microsoft spokesperson Jim Desler emphasised that any news coming out of the hearings should be treated with a grain of salt. According to Desler, "The process is confidential. The entire Reuters story is based on sources that attended the hearing, and it's not a public hearing. It's a closed-door hearing."