MSN upgrades interface and readies local video component

Washington, DC – The Associated Press today unveiled a new and improved face for its Online Video Network player, which continues to attract broadcast and newspaper websites across the country. The new look features larger, eye-catching graphics to showcase top stories. A "Top Video" tab highlights videos in new Most Watched and Editor's Picks categories, and a new sharing tool allows viewers to e-mail links to favorite clips.

"We now have twice as many videos in each section," said Jessica Arnold, AP's director of online video operations. "We've found that people tend to stay on the tab they entered on, so we want to surface as much content as possible on that first page."

Since this year's March launch, the OVN has amassed nearly 1,500 multimedia affiliates that represent more than 100 million average monthly UVs.

Soon OVN members will be able to upload locally-produced video clips to their website's player in order to further customize the content for their audiences. A beta test of the local video upload system is expected to begin in January 2007, with a network-wide rollout scheduled for March.

Powered by MSN technology and featuring exclusive AP content produced specifically for the Web, the Online Video Network is uniquely tailored for Web sites and provides high-quality, in-depth reports from the world's largest newsgathering agency.

About The Associated Press
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world's population sees news from AP.