New desktop platform not aimed at business broadcasters - Chris Cramer

Although the company wants to be the one-stop shop for its clients, it does not wish to encroach on the territory of Bloomberg, Fox News or CNBC, Cramer said on the sidelines of the UK Association of Online Publishers annual conference in London.

The desktop platform - Project Utah due to be launched in 2010 - is designed to be “global, simplified, scaleable” to its customers' specific needs. 

"I think it's one of the most significant developments when it comes to multimedia around at the moment,” Cramer said. “We listen to our clients - they're screaming at us [for this type of service] and they have been for years," he said.

Financial clients wanted a vertical platform offering them content and information relevant to their business interests and allowing them “to go look at that, and only that”, he said. 

An important part of Utah is Project Insider, a web-based television service currently in beta test for about 5,000 to 6,000 clients.

Cramer, former head of CNN International and now Reuters’ global head, multimedia, was interviewed by a reporter for website Journalism.co.uk. He was a leading speaker at the conference. ■