Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Gets BBC iPlayer … Sort of

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) – a pretty popular stock play among hedge funds we track – is not making much of a dent in the smartphone marketplace with its Windows Phone 8 operating system and its handset alliance with Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK). The BBC has been working to develop a native app for iOS by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) and the various Android iterations by Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), which own about 90 percent of the smartphone market at last count. And as the BBC spends its effort on being a prominent part of those OSs, it has had to come up with an alternative for other smartphone users.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has announced that it has reached a licensing deal with the BBC to provide the BBC’s Web-based iPlayer as a live tile on the Windows 8 platform. This is in lieu of the development of a native Windows phone application, which is a similar action that the BBC executed for the BlackBerry 10 operating system by Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:BBRY) – er, BlackBerry Ltd. Microsoft gathered nearly 5 percent of the U.K. smartphone market in the last quarter, but an analyst said that securing an app like iPlayer was going to be vital in helping boost its share – especially in the U.K.

“News that Blackberry 10 had beaten Windows Phone to the punch in getting iPlayer will have sent shockwaves across Microsoft and its partner Nokia – and they will have doubtless moved mountains to get the service supported,” said Ben Wood pf CCS Insight. “Developers have prioritized Apple and Android, and Microsoft faces a problem in that it is still missing some big name apps and those it does have are sometimes not maintained to the same level – offering the same richness of features – as its dominant rivals.”

It is reported that the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone Store now has 130,000 apps, but the store is missing some major apps like Instagram, Photoshop and Dropbox.

What do you think about this new deal? Do you think this can help Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) in improving its market share? Give us your thoughts about BBC programming and the impact of this deal in the comments section below.

DISCLOSURE: I own no positions in any stock mentioned.

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