Consumers want the Internet to be more like TV.

Consumers want the Internet to be more like TV. So Web sites – and advertisers – are striving to make it so. And Seattle, not New York or L.A., looks set to become the capital of streaming media. Seattle-based RealNetworks (RNWK) this week released a number of services to help advertisers implement streaming media. It released an advertising extension for RealServer 7, which will let streaming audio and video ads play over the Internet. Real is also teaming with ad-serving companies like DoubleClick (DCLK) to make it easier for companies to deliver rich-media ads. ABC radio talk-show personality Tom Joyner is one to benefit from the new services. His radio show has sold out of ads, but he now can sell additional radio ads to stream on the show's Web site. At the Streaming Media West '99 show in San Jose, Calif., last week, RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser gave a closing keynote, in which he reiterated the company's commitment to content. He shared with conferencegoers his vision for a streaming media "ecosystem" that provides technology for Web sites and consumers, but also aggregates content services. RealNetworks has been a leader in streaming media. Sites like CNN and Bloomberg use it to broadcast editorial content, and Real claims that 92 million consumers have installed the RealPlayer on their computers. According to Nielsen NetRatings, Real's October usage outnumbered Apple (AOIXQ) 's QuickTime 4 to 1 and Microsoft (MSFT) Windows Media Player 10 to 1. In his Streaming Media West speech last week, Bill Gates outlined Microsoft's plans to enable Windows users to access streaming media.