Streaming companies draw big investors

 

latest developments

Investors are warming up to digital streaming media on the Internet, evident in several deals this week by Sony, Microsoft and others. "People are beginning to take the Net seriously as an entertainment platform." - Aram Sinnreich, Jupiter Communications analyst

Encoding.com comes of age in digital market The privately held company, which takes digital content and converts it to formats for distribution over the Internet, changes its name to LoudEye and receives $48 million in a third-round venture deal. Sony invests in Net broadcaster Sony Corp. of America is taking an undisclosed stake in satellite Internet broadcaster iBeam Broadcasting. Microsoft boosts streaming push with Intervu stake update The software giant moves to expand its share of the streaming media market by taking a $30 million stake in Net streaming pioneer Intervu.