Editing MSN (section)

=== MSN.com ===
In 1998, the largely underutilized "MSN.com" [[domain name]] was combined with Microsoft Internet Start and reinvented as both a [[web portal]] and as the brand for a family of sites produced inside Microsoft's Interactive Media Group. The new website put MSN in direct competition with sites such as [[Yahoo!]], [[Excite (web portal)|Excite]], and [[Go Network]]. Because the new format opened up MSN's content to the world for free, the Internet service provider and subscription service were renamed to MSN Internet Access at that time. (That service eventually became known as MSN Dial-up.)<ref name="msn96ecom" />

The relaunched MSN.com contained a whole family of sites, including original content, channels that were carried over from 'web shows' that were part of Microsoft's [[MSN Dial-up#MSN 2.0|MSN 2.0]] experiment with [[MSN Dial-up|its Internet service provider]] in 1996–97, and new features that were rapidly added. MSN.com became the successor to the default Internet Explorer start page, as all of the previous "Microsoft Internet Start" website was merged with MSN.com.<ref name="msn96ecom" />

Some of the original websites that Microsoft launched during that era remain active in some form today. Microsoft Investor, a [[Business journalism|business news]] and [[investments]] service that was once produced in conjunction with [[CNBC]], is now MSN Money;<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cnbc-on-msn-moneys-stockscouter-celebrates-two-year-track-record-of-outperforming-standard--poors-500-70756152.html |publisher=[[PR Newswire]] |title=CNBC on MSN Money's StockScouter Celebrates Two-Year Track Record Of Outperforming Standard & Poor's 500 |date=July 8, 2003 |access-date=October 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220123414/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cnbc-on-msn-moneys-stockscouter-celebrates-two-year-track-record-of-outperforming-standard--poors-500-70756152.html |archive-date=December 20, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/msn-money-same-microsoft-money-20698.html |publisher=[[AZ Central]] |title=Is MSN Money the Same as Microsoft Money? |date=December 5, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://money.msn.com/investing/an-epic-bear-market-is-coming/ |publisher=[[MSN Money]] |title=Savings and investing – MSN Money |date=October 14, 2014 |access-date=October 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140913104243/http://money.msn.com/investing/an-epic-bear-market-is-coming/ |archive-date=September 13, 2014 }}</ref> CarPoint, an [[automobile]] comparison and shopping service, is now MSN Autos; and the Internet Gaming Zone, a website offering online [[casual games]], is now [[MSN Games]]. Other websites since divested by Microsoft include the travel website [[Expedia]], the online magazine [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]], and the local event and city search website [[Sidewalk.com]].

In the late 1990s, Microsoft collaborated with many other service providers, as well as other Microsoft departments, to expand the range of MSN's services. Some examples include [[Bing Ads|MSN adCenter]], [[MSN Shopping]] (affiliated with [[eBay]], [[PriceGrabber]] and [[Shopping.com]]), and the [[Encarta]] encyclopedia with various levels of access to information.

Since then, MSN.com has remained a popular destination, launching many new services and content sites. MSN's [[Hotmail]] and [[Microsoft Messenger service|Messenger]] services were promoted from the MSN.com portal, which provided a central place for all of MSN's content. [[MSN Search]] (now Bing), a dedicated [[Web search engine|search engine]], launched in 1999. The single sign-in service for Microsoft's online services, [[Microsoft account|Microsoft Passport]] (now [[Microsoft account]]), also launched across all MSN services in 1999. The MSN.com portal and related group of services under the "MSN" umbrella remained largely the same in the early 2000s.

The sports section of the MSN portal was [[ESPN.com]] from 2001 to 2004, and [[FoxSports.com]] from 2004 to 2014.<ref>[http://www.ciol.com/ciol/news/112941/espncom-msn-tie-online-sports-coverage ESPN.com, MSN tie up for online sports coverage] – CIOL, September 8, 2001</ref><ref>[http://news.cnet.com/Game-on-for-MSN,-FoxSports-site/2100-1026-5250774.html Game on for MSN, Fox Sports site] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307155040/http://www.cnet.com/game-on-for-msn,-foxsports-site/2100-1026-5250774.html |date=March 7, 2016 }} – CNET, June 28, 2004</ref> MSN had an exclusive partnership with [[MSNBC.com]] for news content from 1996 until 2012, when Microsoft sold its remaining stake in msnbc.com to [[NBCUniversal]] and the website was renamed [[NBCNews.com]]. Since then, MSN has launched "MSN News", an in-house news operation.<ref name="msnbcnbc">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/business/media/msnbccom-renamed-nbcnewscom-as-microsoft-and-nbc-divorce.html?_r=0 |title=Microsoft and NBC Complete Web Divorce |access-date=July 21, 2014 | work=[[New York Times]] |date=July 15, 2012}}</ref>

As of May 2005, MSN.com was the second most visited portal website in the United States with a share of 23.2 percent, behind [[Yahoo!]] which held a majority.<ref>{{Cite web|date=June 27, 2005|title=Hitwise Search Engine Ratings: May 2005|url=https://www.searchenginewatch.com/2005/06/27/hitwise-search-engine-ratings-may-2005/|access-date=March 26, 2021|website=Search Engine Watch|language=en-US}}</ref>

MSN released a preview of an updated home page and logo on November 3, 2009.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/preview.aspx?vv=700 |title=Hotmail, Messenger, nieuws en entertainment vind je op MSN.nl |publisher=Msn.com |date=December 31, 1999 |access-date=May 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107091327/http://www.msn.com/preview.aspx?vv=700 |archive-date=November 7, 2009 }}</ref> It was originally expected to be widely available to over 100 million U.S. customers by early 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/nov09/11-03MSNPreview.mspx |title=Microsoft Announces New Logo and Site Design |publisher=Microsoft.com |date=November 3, 2009 |access-date=May 1, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/04/msn-unveils-new-look-home-page |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906022037/http://www.neowin.net/news/main/09/11/04/msn-unveils-new-look-home-page |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |title=MSN.com Preview |publisher=Neowin.net |access-date=May 1, 2012 }}</ref> MSN rolled out the newer logo, together with a redesign of the overall website, on December 25, 2009.<ref name="msnnewlogo">{{cite web | url=http://www.istartedsomething.com/20091028/say-hello-new-msn-butterfly-logo/ | title=Say hello to the new MSN butterfly | date=October 27, 2009 | access-date=October 31, 2009}}</ref><ref name="redesign">{{Cite news |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2355286,00.asp |title=PCMag.com: Microsoft Integrates Twitter Into MSN Redesign |access-date=November 5, 2009 | work=PC Magazine |first=Michael |last=Muchmore |date=November 4, 2009}}</ref>

In 2012, MSN announced on its blog that it would be unveiling a new version of the MSN.com [[home page]] on October 26, exclusively for [[Windows 8]], saying that the new version would be "clean, simple, and built for touch".<ref>{{cite web|last=MSN Team|title=The All New MSN for Windows 8|url=http://msnblog.msn.com/blogpost.aspx?post=64eb3e22-271b-4424-a5ce-475435a93d56|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003234009/http://msnblog.msn.com/blogpost.aspx?post=64eb3e22-271b-4424-a5ce-475435a93d56|archive-date=October 3, 2012|publisher=Microsoft|access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref> Microsoft said it would be more app-like due to the speed of [[Internet Explorer 10]]. More new features included "Flip Ahead", which allowed users to swipe from one article to the next. MSN for Windows 8 also had new deals with the [[Associated Press|AP]] and [[Reuters]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Albanesius|first=Chloe|title=Microsoft Overhauls MSN for Windows 8, IE10|url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2410420,00.asp|publisher=PC Magazine|access-date=March 26, 2014}}</ref>