MSNBC Revamps msnbc.com Video Player to Facilitate Sharing on Facebook and Twitter and Embedding

MSNBC, a US cable news channel that is a joint venture between Microsoft and NBC Universal, on Tuesday unveiled a new design and various new interactive features for its msnbc.com embeddable video player. According to the company, the newly enhanced video player now allows viewers to adjust its video screen to three different sizes, making it easier for them to customize it so that it fits easily on their own Web sites and blogs.

In addition, MSNBC says, the new version of the embeddable player features new sharing functions, enabling viewers to share their favorite clips from MSNBC cable shows and NBC News on Facebook, Twitter and Newsvine. Viewers can now embed video clips into their Facebook timelines, email them or post them to Twitter directly from the embedded player, the company says, and viewers also now have the ability to edit video to select only the portion of the clip they'd like to view. "We're constantly pushing the boundaries on what we can do with our video technology to give consumers an interactive and compelling viewing experience," msnbc.com president, Charlie Tillinghast, said in a prepared statement. "Our new player is another step in our continuous evolution to deliver the best news video."

MSNBC also says that the new version of the msnbc.com player features integrated playlists that allow viewers to explore more related video without having to leave the embedded video page; and that its new design includes branding for each NBC News and MSNBC show, so that viewers can use the new features from any show site. In addition, the company says, the player can be expanded to a full screen.

MSNBC claims that msnbc.com was the first major news site to offer consumers embeddable video for their own Web sites and blogs. Citing figures from ComScore, it says that the site generated 150 total video streams in October, making it the most popular video-enabled news site in the US.