Whatever happened to WebTV?
IN APRIL 1997, Microsoft spent $425m buying WebTV, a Silicon Valley start-up that brought the Internet to the television. The purchase was billed as the beginning of Microsoft's takeover of the TV business. Three years on, only 1% of American households have signed up for WebTV. Its brand is now being edged aside, to be replaced with a new brand and a somewhat different product, UltimateTV.
This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “Whatever happened to WebTV?”
From the September 16th 2000 edition
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