Microsoft Quietly Announces Impending Closure of MSN TV Service

So long, old friend. Very old friend, actually. It takes a certain generation to truly remember the advent of WebTV and MSN TV -- both were services of an era that existed before laptops and media streamers were out in full force. The concept was to bring the Internet to the Television, and in many ways, we're still seeing that dream lived out. There's Google TV, a variety of Smart TVs, Apple TV -- you name it, and companies are trying to figure out ideal ways to add the web to your living room experience.


MSN TV was one of those options, but it never truly took off. That's actually a familiar refrain, as is the closing of such services. Microsoft has quietly announced over the weekend that MSN TV will be shutting its doors on 9/30. Subscribers will receive an e-mail soon with details on closing things out, but we can't imagine that that mailing list will be very long.


One has to wonder if there's a future for these kinds of services; the ones we've seen sure haven't lasted very long, nor have they received any sort of critical acclaim.