Microsoft Hires TV Veteran for Business Strategy

[Gregg Lengling]

Thu Nov 7, 2:23 PM ET

REDMOND, Wash. (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news), on Thursday said it hired cable television veteran Maggie Wilderotter to help the world's largest software company move more aggressively into the market for television technology.

Wilderotter will join Microsoft on Nov. 26 as senior vice president of business strategy. Previously, she was president and chief executive of Wink Communications Inc., which sells software that allowed viewers to push a button on a remote control and get more information about an advertiser during a television program.


Wink Communications is a unit of OpenTV Corp.(NasdaqNM:OPTV - news), which is controlled by Liberty Media Corp. (NYSE:L - news).


In July, Microsoft hired a new chief salesman for its television division away from Liberate Technologies Inc. (NasdaqNM:LBRT - news), which competes with Microsoft in the software market for advanced TV services that aim to deliver interactive content and communication through television sets.


In the past six years, Microsoft has invested billions of dollars to take stakes in cable companies, such as Comcast Corp.(NasdaqNM:CMCSK - news). But those investments have soured with the telecommunications and cable industry slump, forcing Microsoft to take hefty write-downs on its investments.


Wilderotter will report to Craig Mundie, chief technical officer for Advanced Strategies and Policy.


Microsoft shares were 1.95 percent lower at $55.92 in mid-afternoon trade on the Nasdaq.