Adobe CEO accuses Microsoft of trying to muscle into the web video market

Adobe's chief executive has attacked Microsoft for "opening its chequebook" in an attempt to muscle its way into the web video market.

Just weeks after the release of a new version of Silverlight – Microsoft's competitor to the hugely popular Flash Player – Adobe boss Shantanu Narayen said that the Seattle-based software giant was failing to get a foothold on the web, despite heavy spending.

"Either you have full penetration or you don't," he told a group of journalists at Adobe's headquarters in San Jose, California.

"If you look at the number of partners who are signing up [to use Flash] despite the fact that Redmond opens its chequebook and tries to get companies to move to Silverlight, we're winning.

"The BBC moved over, the NFL [National Football League] went live with us using NBC. Microsoft and NBC have had a long standing relationship, but they picked us."

Flash is on around 98% of all computers connected to the internet, and has a commanding position in web video thanks to its use by sites such as YouTube. Recent figures suggest that Flash is used for around 86% of all streaming video viewed in the US, compared with Silverlight's 13%.

Narayen said that the extensive adoption of Flash meant that it could withstand any push from Microsoft.

"Something like 90% of the internet moves over to the next generation of Flash within a year," he said. "I think that's a little quicker than the speed by which Vista is being adopted."

Despite glowing figures, however, Flash has yet to make inroads with one high-profile platform – Apple's iPhone.

Apple has consistently rejected the idea that it would allow Flash to run on its high-end mobile handset, despite speculation that it might change its mind. Referring to the revelation in September that Adobe was working on a Flash player for iPhone, Narayen said he was still hoping that Apple would change its stance.

"Everything that goes onto the iPhone when it's shipped needs their cooperation," he said. "What we really want is Flash built as a plug-in to Safari on the iPhone. But it's working; I've seen demos of it."

Such a move would mark a significant turnaround for Apple – not least because it would potentially allow iPhone applications to be developed using a third-party system rather than its own Cocoa platform.

Despite the rivalry, Narayen – a former Apple executive – said that his relationship with Apple CEO Steve Jobs remained intact.

"I don't think I've pissed him off ... he still answers my calls," he joked.

Narayen added that Adobe was in a good position to weather the economic storm that has seen thousands of workers laid off by technology companies across Silicon Valley.

"We've always taken a long-range look," he said.

"Clearly we're in uncertain economic times, but we've never made decisions as a company that will impact our long-term strategic future. We look at it and say that strong companies are going to become stronger in an environment like this."