MS hires veteran for new media group

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp. is forming a new management group to work more closely with the media and entertainment industry, a sector the world's largest software maker has been courting for years, and said it has hired industry veteran Blair Westlake to head the group.

Westlake, the former chairman of Universal Television, will become corporate vice president of Microsoft's Media/Entertainment & Technology Convergence group.

Microsoft has long tried to tie its software to content as a way to ensure the long term viability of Windows and its other technologies, but Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment industry have been reluctant to fully embrace digital media, partly due to fears over piracy and control over content.

The new group underscores Microsoft's push to "build mutually productive and profitable relationships with the media and entertainment industries," Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, said in a statement.