Bill Gates Keynote At CES: Three Stock-related Points (MSFT, VIAB, DTV, SNE)

Microsoft head Bill Gates gave his much-anticipated keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show last night. Three key points for those of us interested primarily in stock implications:

● A new music venture, named URGE, will be launched between MTV (VIAB) and Microsoft. The service will work around a new version of Microsoft Media Player. MTV Networks’ Music Group President Van Toffler joined Gates to give details on URGE:

URGE will offer a customized relationship to music, a sense of musical discovery ... over 100 radio stations .. a chance to learn about the roots of songs and lyrics ... a chance to interact with the artists. You can make URGE the soundtrack to your own event. It will be programmed by music fans for music fans. Subscribers will tell us what sucks. We will engage an army of music professionals, bloggers, musicians, etc ... Take note, we are trying something new with URGE, like Music Television was twenty years ago. (excerpt from Engadget)

This looks very positive for VIA, and the commitment to user-submitted content shows keen understanding of the way the web's going.

● Microsoft is forming new content deals with DirecTV (DTV) and British operator BSkyB. Microsoft's next-generation Media Center will work with regular and HD programming from DirectTV -- a big plus for DTV.

● Later this year, an external HD DVD drive will become available for the Xbox 360. This could give MSFT's gaming console a much-needed boost just when competing products from Sony (SNE) and Nintendo hit the market.

MSFT 1-yr chart: