VeriSign and Entriq have entered into a strategic alliance to combine Entriq's rights-management and commerce solutions with the VeriSign Intelligent Content Delivery Network (CDN). Together, the two look to offer media companies a solution for managing, monetizing, and delivering their media assets online. Entriq's services include customer care, billing, content geographic controls, download controls and support for a wide variety of business models. VeriSign's Intelligent CDN, introduced in December 2006, delivers video over the Internet utilizing patented peer-to-peer technology.

The combined solution offers media and entertainment companies a variety of delivery options for monetizing their media assets, including streaming, download and progressive download, with the additional advantage of leveraging secure and legitimate peer to peer when delivery speed and cost advantages are critical business drivers.

Entriq COO Scott Crowder said: "Posting Internet video is relatively simple, as anyone who has visited YouTube knows, but delivering high-quality video cost effectively -- and then verifying that the digital rights of the publisher are protected and enforced while also offering customers excellent customer care -- is another story. By integrating Entriq's pay media solution with VeriSign's Intelligent CDN we're providing entertainment and media businesses of all sizes a chance to build scaleable new media business. We've made it easy and affordable to produce and generate revenue from high-quality Internet video."

According to analyst firm eMarketer, Internet video is exploding. In the United States alone, the Internet video audience will grow 45.8 percent from 107.7 million in 2006 to 157 million by 2010.

The VeriSign Intelligent CDN combines the attributes of a traditional CDN with the efficiencies of peer-to-peer technology as an end-to-end managed service. The scale of VeriSign's global intelligent infrastructure, combined with the patented and proven Kontiki peer-to-peer technology, enables media and entertainment companies to offer a superior download experience for end users.

Entriq is also launching the 3.6 version of the Entriq Download Manager which along with incorporating the Verisign Intelligent CDN components has been upgraded to include:

• Transfer to PlaysForSure Devices -- Entriq Download Manager supports discovery of devices attached to the PC through USB ports. It also supports transfer of appropriate media and licenses to a PlaysForSure device.
• Configurable Delay in Auto-Deletion -- customers can now determine the interval for auto-deletion of the media file.