Multichannel video programming refers to cable or satellite television.

So in addition to delivering worldwide gameplay, Microsoft has been offering additional video programming, like movie trailers, over the service.

This may have marked the first time the channel has ever aired any non-music video programming.

The companion Web site (www.now.com) has five portals that contain information that builds on the video programming.

Some of the video programming can be downloaded only for an additional fee that gets added to a monthly bill.

Getting permission to use the video programming requires negotiating a series of licensing agreements.

And much of the original video programming now being produced is short - less than five minutes - and derived from youth-oriented television properties.

The Supreme Court has already said that video programming is a type of speech.

In the past, competitors generally focused on one cable service, like high-speed Internet or video programming, and attempts to combine services often flopped.

Yahoo, in its first big move into original online video programming, is betting that war and conflict will lure new viewers.