RealPlayer

Buffering… buffering…

Zombie
19902026

RealPlayer pioneered internet streaming, launching as RealAudio Player in April 1995. By 2000 over 95 million users streamed through Real formats, and 215 million were registered by mid-2001. Microsoft's bundled Windows Media Player and Flash video destroyed its position, and it survives today only as a zombie download manager.

Timeline

  1. 1995
  2. April 1995 Launch
    RealAudio Player debuts

    The first mainstream streaming audio on the internet.

  3. 1997
  4. February 1997 Version
    RealVideo debuts

    RealPlayer 4.0 adds video streaming over dial-up connections.

  5. September 1997 Rebrand
    Progressive Networks becomes RealNetworks

    IPO follows in November 1997.

  6. 1999
  7. November 1999 Incident
    RealJukebox privacy scandal

    The player is caught reporting listening habits with a unique ID; a defining early privacy story.

  8. 2000
  9. 2000 Peak
    Streaming belongs to Real

    Over 95M users; ~85% of streaming web content in Real formats.

  10. 2001
  11. July 2001 Peak
    215 million registered users

    RealPlayer registration peaks in mid-2001 before Windows Media and Flash video erode it.

  12. 2003
  13. April 2003 Rebrand
    Pivot to Rhapsody subscriptions

    RealNetworks buys Listen.com and bets the company on subscription music.

  14. 2005
  15. 11 October 2005 Legal
    Microsoft pays $761M antitrust settlement

    Compensation for Windows Media Player bundling; far too late.

  16. 2010
  17. 2010 Decline
    Flash video and YouTube make the player irrelevant

    RealPlayer lingers as a download manager.

Ownership

RealNetworks (Progressive Networks) 1995–now Founded Renamed from Progressive Networks in 1997; still operating

Key figures

MetricValueAs ofConfidence
Market share (%) 85% 2000 Reported Share of streaming web content in Real formats
Registered accounts ▲ 215 million June 2001 Reported Registered RealPlayer users at the peak

Confirmed official figures · Reported media, cites a source · Estimated analyst or our estimate

Why it shut down

Our analysis: RealNetworks invented mainstream streaming and then lost it: Windows Media Player was free and bundled, the RealPlayer client became notorious for nagware and bundled extras, and Flash video absorbed web streaming. The company survives; the player is a zombie brand.

History

The first stream

Rob Glaser's Progressive Networks shipped RealAudio Player in April 1995, and for the first time the internet had live sound: radio stations, ball games, speeches, all squeezed through dial-up. Renamed RealNetworks in 1997, the company owned streaming outright at the millennium: over 95 million users, and roughly 85% of streaming web content in Real formats around 2000, with 215 million registered players by mid-2001.

Bundled to death

Microsoft shipped Windows Media Player free with every PC, and Real's response (a paywalled player wrapped in nag screens, bundled toolbars and subscription upsells) burned twenty years of goodwill. Real sued Microsoft over the bundling and won a $761 million settlement in 2005, but by then Flash video and YouTube had made the standalone streaming player irrelevant. RealNetworks still exists and still ships a RealPlayer, which almost nobody has thought about since 2008: the textbook zombie of the media-player wars it once won against Winamp and everyone else.

Similar projects

Winamp It really whips the llama's ass 1997–2013 Google Play Music Your music locker, repossessed 2011–2020 Grooveshark All the music, none of the licences 2007–2015 Rdio The prettiest streaming service that ever lost 2010–2015 ICQ The messenger that gave you a number 1996–2024 MySpace A place for friends 2003–now

Sources

  1. History of RealNetworks, Inc. FundingUniverse / International Directory of Company Histories [archived]
  2. Remember RealPlayer? The iconic '90s media player you thought was dead MakeUseOf 24 January 2022 [archived]

Last verified: 11 August 2026