C-SPAN dropping RealVideo format

RealVideo: going, going, gone [Ars Technica]

Ars Technica makes note of the decline of the RealVideo streaming standard, with C-SPAN announcing plans to drop the format from its web site starting next month. RealVideo was first released in 1997, and quickly grew to become a dominant source for streaming video on the nascent world wide web. But, over the years it has been eclipsed by Windows Media and Flash video. 

C-SPAN, brought to viewers by the nation's cable companies, has been the go-to network for coverage of Congress for over 30 years. For several years, much of that coverage has been streamed and archived on C-SPAN's web site in RealVideo.

Now, C-SPAN is eliminating the RealVideo formatted video from its site due to the decreased demand by online viewers, replacing it with Windows Media and Flash options. Nearly all web users have the browser plug-ins necessary to view video using one or both.