MySpace, Skype to partner for new voice call offering
MySpace and Skype are set to announce a new service that will allow MySpace members to make free Internet phone calls using Skype’s telephony network from MySpace’s instant message program.
“We are interconnecting the world’s largest voice network and the world’s largest video and social network,” Michael van Swaaij, interim chief executive officer of Skype, told The New York Times. “It feels like an obvious fit.”
Amit Kapur, vice president of business development at MySpace, for his part said: “If we can engage the user base in the right way and increase usage and create the right sort of premium experience that people want to participate in, as well as monetize around the free environment through advertising, it can be a viable business partnership.”
Starting in November, MySpace users who download the latest version of the MySpace instant messenger client, will be able to link their profiles to Skype accounts, and will be able to place voice chat calls through the MySpaceIM client or the Skype client to both Skype and MySpace members.
MySpace has about 110 million members while Skype has 220 million registered users. Both companies hope that the combination will accelerate user base and revenue growth.
The two companies are due to announce the deal on Wednesday. So far both companies have failed to disclose the revenue sharing terms.
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