analystslie
18 years ago
Apparently nobody took me serious on OPTV. What a dead board
(RTTNews) - Thursday, OpenTV Corp. (OPTV) said that Kudelski Group has signed a stock purchase agreement with Liberty Media Corp. (LINTA, LCAPA) to acquire voting control of OpenTV. Kudelski Group would acquire 6,533,951 Class A ordinary shares and 30,206,154 Class B ordinary shares of OpenTV from Liberty for a purchase price of $3.60 per share, with an aggregate purchase price of $132.26 million.
The shares to be acquired collectively represent about 26.7% of the economic interest and 74.7% of the voting interest of OpenTV's ordinary shares outstanding as of September 30, 2006. The closing of the deal is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of requisite regulatory approvals. It is anticipated that the transaction will close by the first quarter of 2007.
As part of the transaction, Liberty is expected to pay OpenTV up to $19.7 million or $0.14 per share, consistent with an existing agreement between Liberty and OpenTV signed in February, 2006, under which Liberty agreed to allocate its premium in this manner. OpenTV was not a direct party to the purchase agreement between Liberty and the Kudelski Group. OpenTV will receive $5.4 million of this amount at closing, with the remainder to be paid after an applicable indemnity period.
Upon closing of the deal, the Kudelski Group expects to appoint Alan Guggenheim, currently CEO of NagraStar, a joint venture between the Kudelski Group and EchoStar, as Chief Executive Officer of OpenTV.
Upon closing, the Kudelski Group will consolidate the results of OpenTV.
Copyright(c) 2006 RealTimeTraders.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved
analystslie
18 years ago
Comcast OPTV litigation deadline November 30th?
Comcast, Cox Set Stage for ITV Innovations on Mass Scale
Comcast and Cox Communications have found a way to facilitate rapid in-house and third-party development of interactive TV applications development across millions of legacy set-top boxes.
Through their joint ITV platform venture, TVWorks, and an agreement with Ensequence, supplier of authoring tools for enhanced TV (ETV) applications, the MSOs say they are putting in place a non-technical set of developer tools and application runtime software that will lead to launch of many new service components on installed digital set-tops starting in mid 2007. The combination of TVWorks software, which the MSOs have evolved from the Liberate ITV system they purchased for use in North America two years ago, and the on-Q ETV authoring suite from Ensequence is now ready for use by programming networks, advertisers and cable operators, officials say.
Applications will run on the TVWorks implementation of the CableLabs’ ETV-BIF (Enhanced Television – Binary Interchange Format) standard, which is specifically designed to support the North American cable industry’s most widely deployed, first-generation digital TV set-tops: the Motorola DCT-2000 and Scientific-Atlanta Explorer 2000. The MSOs’ investment in the ETV technologies suggests the U.S. cable industry is anxious to provide subscribers with TV services that incorporate the kinds of interactive participation and immersion they are beginning to taste on the Web.
The ETV-BIF standard will enable the MSOs to get to a mass audience fast with rudimentary interactive services over old and new set-tops within the next year. That effort will help fill what may be a five-year wait for the rich interactive applications envisioned for set-tops and consumer electronics products running CableLabs’ more futuristic Open Cable Applications Platform (OCAP) standard.
“ETV is really focused on applications that are delivered in, and relate to, a video program,” says Greg Thomson, senior vice president, product management and business development, for TVWorks.“There’s a lot you can do with functionality, such as voting and polling and data updates, posting recommendations and highly synchronous play-along applications. We feel it covers 80 percent of application needs for ITV.”
Thomson adds that “ETV is in testing and progressing very well. Trials will be starting soon.”
He suggests the “first wave of applications may be very simple. If you’re watching American Idol, you can participate in the program by picking a winner that week from a selection of four or six names by using up, down and select on the remote control. You can also do things like read and delete email on the TV between innings or check caller ID on TV. Or a network can introduce a VOD offering—watch outtakes, preview of next week’s show—during end credits. These are applications that are complex on the backend, but simple from the user experience point of view. Later you might get more complicated with contests and posting results.”
In addition to meeting interactive video competition from the Web, ETV promises to make money. Such services offered by satellite and cable TV services in Europe generated more than $1 billion in revenue in 2005, according to the French Professional Association for Interactive Television.
U.S. MSOs can rapidly start to replicate that success by enabling 90 percent of their installed base of digital TV set-tops to run ETV-BIF applications by the end of 2007 or early 2008, adding up to an addressable market between 25 million and 30 million set-tops,says Aslam Khader, vice president, marketing and strategy, for Ensequence, whose tools are widely used by European programmers and operators including BSkyB.
At that point, Khader says, the MSOs will be able to attract advertisers to support a free, ad-supported ETV model for a mass audience.
“Most likely, as we see in the U.K., interactivity will get sponsored and funded by advertisers,” he says. “The advertisers get tracking and reporting—the best of Internet—plus a mass audience and addressibilty—the best of television. Based on our discussions across the programmer, advertiser and operator communities, when interactivity can reach 20 million, that’s not a little experiment.
Khader adds: “We see that as a tipping point for this industry, when the ad community sits up and is willing to invest significantly. We already have 11 to 12 million [addressable devices] on (EchoStar’s) DISH. In nine to 12 months, middle or late 2007, we will cross 20 million in the U.S. with satellite and cable combined.”
Comcast and Cox selected the TVWorks platform as their interactive application platform on Motorola and S-A set-top boxes, which are already in more than 13 million of those two operators’ customer homes. Other North American MSOs account for about that many DCT and Explorer set-tops again. Cox directly licensed Ensequence tools last January. Now Comcast gains access to them through TVWorks, which itself operates an application development division formerly known as MetaTV.
While both TVWorks and Ensequence provide OCAP-compliant solutions, that more robust runtime environment will require more processing power and memory than is available on the older boxes.
“The good news is we now have a more standards-based environment for development and deployment, whether for OCAP or Java or ETV,” Thomson says. “Creators can now develop in a user-friendly language and see their applications delivered over wide array of set-tops.”
sweaty75
18 years ago
This is what I'm talking about.
OpenTV develops Indy 500 application for ESPN
Indiantelevision.com Team
(26 May 2006 4:00 pm)
MUMBAI: OpenTV Corp. a provider of enabling technologies for advanced digital television services, has developed the 'ESPN 2006 Indianapolis 500 Application' and the 'Indy 500 DishHOME Mosaic' for deployment on the Dish Network. The applications will enable an enhanced experience for viewers of the Indianapolis 500 race on 28 May.
Dish Network subscribers will have access to an Indy 500-themed DishHome Mosaic (channel 100) on race day that will feature six different in-car camera feeds, each of which may be clicked on for viewing in full-screen mode. It will feature an Indy 500 race-themed motion background and will be ESPN Interactive TV-branded.
Prior to the race, the interactive Indy 500 application was deployed by Dish Network to its subscriber base on 25 May. The application is accessible through the "Sports" menu category in the DishHome Mosaic (channel 100). It features several pieces of enhanced content, including quarter-screen video of the ESPNews channel leading up to the race day; quarter-screen video of one in-car camera during the race; driver biographies and statistics; league standings; IRL schedule; and "The Milk Tradition."
"The Indianapolis 500 is the perfect sporting event for these types of enhanced applications. Leveraging our extensive experience building interactive applications, and our close working relationship with EchoStar, we were able to design and develop this captivating application for ESPN, giving them exactly what they wanted, when they wanted it," said OpenTV Americas senior vice president and general manager Tim Evard.
"We think the compelling nature of these types of applications, and our longtime experience in this sector, uniquely position us to offer our customers, both on the operator and the programming side, the types of advanced television solutions that help their programming stand out in today's world. We look forward to continuing these efforts with one of the world's most recognisable programming brands in ESPN," he added.
EchoStar, which has built the world's most extensive interactive and enhanced television platform utilizing OpenTV technology, reaches more than 12 million households. With this project for ESPN, OpenTV has effectively leveraged for ESPN's benefit the highly popular Mosaic application used for multiple programming events by EchoStar.
sweaty75
18 years ago
OpenTV Signs Multi-Year License Agreement With MC3 Global to Power Play Platinum TV Channel
By PR Newswire
Last Update: 5/24/2006 7:01:57 AM Data provided by
LONDON, May 24, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- OpenTV Corp. (OPTV), a leading provider of enabling technologies for advanced digital television services, today announced that MC3 Global has signed a multi-year license agreement for the OpenTV Participate(TM) solution to manage Play Platinum TV, MC3 Global's soon-to-be-launched TV gaming broadcast business.
OpenTV Participate will be the core business management tool for Play Platinum, a UK-based fixed odds gaming and entertainment broadcaster and managed services provider. Play Platinum expects to broadcast programming such as virtual horse racing and numbers games, including Keno, to viewers on free-to-air satellite, broadband internet, and other distribution platforms. OpenTV Participate will process all transactions and provide modules for customer registration, customer care and bonus, and loyalty schemes. OpenTV Participate will also offer MC3 Global multiple finance functions, including billing (via credit cards and premium rate telephony), accounting, business and financial reporting, and risk management, all with real-time accessibility.
"MC3 understands how OpenTV's technology can help achieve their vision, and we are delighted to be working with them," said Ben Bennett, Managing Director, OpenTV EMEA. "OpenTV Participate has been designed to enable broadcasters to offer compelling interactive services with a customer-centric approach. We believe that OpenTV Participate will help Play Platinum achieve a large, loyal customer base, and will enable Play Platinum to manage those customers more efficiently than any other platform in the market today."
Play Platinum, which expects to launch its service in multiple territories, including Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, will be broadcasting in several languages with customers able to engage with programming through the telephone, the internet and SMS. With its real-time processing of all participation, OpenTV Participate enables Play Platinum to broadcast live statistics to Play Platinum viewers synchronized with the programming.
"As with most businesses, ours is designed to grow in stages with new formats being added as the business builds," said Jennifer Allsop, MD, MC3 Global. "OpenTV Participate is the perfect platform for such a strategy -- the system is extremely powerful and modular in design. In the main package, we get all the systems we need to run a participation-based interactive TV business and can then add new modules quickly and with little additional effort -- for example, new games engines or the very slick participation TV modules."
About OpenTV
OpenTV is one of the world's leading providers of technologies and services enabling the delivery of digital and interactive television. The company's software has been integrated in over 67 million digital set-top-boxes in 96 countries. The software enables enhanced television, interactive shopping, interactive and addressable advertising, games and gaming, personal video recording, and a variety of consumer care and communication applications. For more information, please visit www.opentv.com.
About MC3 Global
MC3 Global is a partnership of industry leading TV professionals specializing in Convergent Media and traditional TV with non-traditional revenue streams. MC3 will launch a Global 24 hour Gaming and Participation TV service into multiple territories in Q3 2006 with a working title of Play Platinum TV. This channel is inspired by current UK TV 'soft' gaming channels such as Sky Vegas, Avago & Channel 854 (William Hill), and will provide opportunities for viewers to 'bet' (either for real or for fun) on the winners of computer generated horse races & also Keno games. Viewers will be able to receive the channel via free-to-air via satellite, via broadband internet, mobile phone or via re-distribution agreements with platforms (DTH, Cable & IPTV) as well as local broadcasters. MC3 Global are working with Strategic Advisors Ariadne Capital on the launch of this service.
SOURCE OpenTV Corp.
sweaty75
18 years ago
Dodge Brand, Turner Media Group Launch Interactive TV Advertising Campaign on DISH Network; Nearly 12 Million DISH Network Satellite TV Homes to 'Test Drive' All-New 2007 Dodge Caliber Via Interactive TV Experience
By BusinessWire
Last Update: 5/16/2006 12:40:01 PM Data provided by
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. & DENVER, May 16, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Dodge brand and Turner Media Group (TMG) are giving close to 12 million interactive TV subscribers of EchoStar Communications Corporation (DISH) and its DISH Network satellite TV service a convenient way to experience the all-new 2007 Dodge Caliber through an innovative, multi-level, interactive TV advertising campaign that began this month and extends to the end of July 2006.
Developed by DISH Network and TMG and built by interactive TV veteran OpenTV Corp. (OPTV), this comprehensive ITV campaign consists of 30-second TV spots scheduled to run across dozens of cable networks that link viewers via an on-screen pop-up message, or "trigger," to an interactive web-like environment on their satellite TV. Viewers then simply use their TV remote to do the following:
-- View a gallery of photos of the Dodge Caliber;
-- View weekly features that focus on a different aspect of the Dodge Caliber;
-- Request a Dodge CD filled with games and wallpaper;
-- Locate a dealer with up to nine-digit zip code precision;
-- Click through to TMG's iDrive TV channel to watch an expanded version of a TV spot detailing the versatility and capability of the new Dodge Caliber;
-- Enter the iAd through a banner ad on the DISH Home portal that coincides with the TV campaign.
"This new advertising campaign demonstrates to viewers how the Dodge Caliber redefines the compact car with space-efficient packaging, interior flexibility, innovative features and performance," said Mark T. Spencer, Senior Manager -- Dodge Communications. "Caliber buyers are savvy TV viewers who will enjoy the convenience of interactive television to take their first test drive."
The Dodge Caliber ITV ads will run across dozens of cable network channels carried on DISH Network, the world's largest provider of interactive television. The nearly 12 million DISH Network households with interactive-capable receivers will be able to view the enhanced and triggered ads. Chrysler Group, TMG and DISH Network previously collaborated on an ITV campaign in the fall of 2005 for the JEEP brand.
"Chrysler Group is an example of a company going beyond the traditional 30-second commercial to deliver an enhanced, real-time experience to consumers nationwide who never have to leave the comfort of their couches," said Chris Kager, president of TMG's Turner Advertising Group. "TMG is using the power of traditional cable networks along with the flexibility of our eight nationally distributed TV channels on DISH Network to offer advertisers on-screen triggers, 3/4 screen iAds, long-form video, RFI's and set-top box audience analysis. And we're setting the pace for the industry by delivering interactive advertising to three times more homes than any other U.S. provider."
About Chrysler Group
The Chrysler Group, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., produces Chrysler, Jeep(R), Dodge and Mopar(R) brand vehicles and products. The company increased worldwide annual sales in 2005 by five percent to 2.83 million vehicles, making the Chrysler Group the only North American-based automaker to achieve a sales increase last year. Its product lineup features some of the world's most recognizable vehicles, including the Chrysler 300, the Jeep Commander, and the Dodge Charger. The DaimlerChrysler Corporation Fund, the Company's philanthropic arm, gave $26 million in grants in 2005. The Chrysler Group is a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's fifth-largest automaker, which produces passenger and commercial vehicles including the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, smart and Freightliner brands.
About Dodge Caliber
Dodge Caliber redefines the entry-level vehicle by combining high value with bold styling and a slew of clever interior innovations. It will appeal to owners around the world who want Dodge attitude packaged with the capability and versatility of a sport-utility vehicle and the affordability and fuel-efficiency of an entry-level compact car.
Dodge Caliber will appeal to up-and-coming buyers who are looking for a compact car that stands out from the crowd and gives them the flexibility to do more in terms of seating friends and storing gear. Caliber has the versatility and flexibility to accommodate their lifestyles, as well as a value price. With a starting U.S. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) of $13,985 (including a $560 destination charge), Dodge Caliber is priced $410 below the outgoing Dodge Neon.
About EchoStar
EchoStar Communications Corporation (DISH) serves more than 12 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network, the fastest-growing U.S. provider of advanced digital television services in the last five years. DISH Network offers hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. Visit EchoStar's DISH Network at www.dishnetwork.com or call 800-333-DISH (3474).
About Turner Media Group
Turner Media Group (TMG) is a full-service, turn-key provider of interactive TV advertising, direct response programming and transactional TV. TMG represents advertising media in various formats on eight of TMG's targeted transactional TV channels: The Men's Channel, Healthy Living Channel, Beauty & Fashion Channel, Resort and Residence, iDrive, Men's Outdoors and iShop TV. Comprised of two divisions, Turner Advertising Group and Turner Networks Group, TMG reaches an aggregate of more than 100 million homes nationwide through EchoStar's DISH Network satellite TV and major cable TV distributors Comcast, Time Warner and Cox on a market-by-market basis. TMG represents more than 6 million ad avails annually. TMG has offices in N.Y., L.A., Chicago, San Francisco, and Denver. Gary Turner Companies are not affiliated with Turner Broadcasting Systems, Inc. Visit www.turnermediagroup.com.
SOURCE: Turner Media Group
sweaty75
18 years ago
CNN Launches Interactive TV Service for DISH Network Subscribers
'CNN Enhanced TV' Enables Viewers to Access CNN.com Articles, Headlines, Images While Watching CNN on DISH Network's 'DishHOME'
ATLANTA and INGLEWOOD, Colo., Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- CNN and EchoStar Communications Corporation today announced the availability of CNN Enhanced TV, a new content-rich interactive news service offering through EchoStar's DISH Network(TM) satellite TV service. With CNN Enhanced TV, DISH Network subscribers can get the latest headlines and images from CNN.com in conjunction with CNN/U.S. programming on DISH Network's "DishHOME" on channel 100.
"CNN Enhanced TV furthers CNN's commitment to providing viewers with greater access to our extensive television news coverage, along with the top- notch reports and services available through CNN.com," said Kevin Cohen, senior vice president, Strategic Planning, Corporate and Technology Strategy for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. "This application offers our viewers an interactive news experience, enabling them to not only benefit from our extensive televised coverage but also take advantage of the extensive resources of CNN.com, all without leaving their television sets."
Built by OpenTV Corp., one of the world's leading providers of digital television systems and applications, CNN Enhanced TV enables DISH Network subscribers to view graphically rich headlines and stories, vote in polls and review on-air schedules through a compelling user interface, all while viewing CNN/U.S. CNN Enhanced TV will make many of the latest stories from CNN.com available at any given time across a range of categories, including Top Stories, U.S. & World, Technology & Science, Sports, Showbiz & Health and Business.
"The CNN Enhanced TV application furthers DISH Network's standing as a leader in ITV," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of programming of DISH Network. "The application is an extraordinary addition to DISH Network's advanced 25 virtual and enhanced ITV channels."
Using their remote controls, DISH Network customers can reach the CNN Enhanced TV channel through "DishHOME" on DISH Network channel 100 or by pressing "select" when a CNN Enhanced TV commercial is shown on DISH Network. In the future, users will be able to access the CNN Enhanced TV application whenever they tune into CNN/U.S. located on channel 200. There is no additional fee to DISH Network subscribers for access to CNN Enhanced TV.
CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; four Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; CNN Pipeline, an on-demand broadband video service; CNN Newsource, the world's most extensively syndicated news service; and partnerships for four television networks and one Web site.
EchoStar Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: DISH) serves more than 12 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network(TM), the fastest growing U.S. provider of advanced digital television services in the last five years. DISH Network offers hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. Visit EchoStar's DISH Network at http://www.dishnetwork.com/ or call 1-800-333-DISH (3474).
First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:
Website: http://www.cnn.com/
sweaty75
18 years ago
CNN Enhanced TV comes to DISH Network
ATLANTA, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- CNN and EchoStar Communications Monday announced the availability of CNN Enhanced TV, a new interactive news service offering through EchoStar's DISH Network.
"CNN Enhanced TV furthers CNN's commitment to providing viewers with greater access to our extensive television news coverage, along with the top-notch reports and services available through CNN.com," said Kevin Cohen, senior vice president of strategic planning, corporate and yechnology strategy for Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
Built by OpenTV Corp., CNN Enhanced TV enables DISH Network subscribers to view graphically rich headlines and stories, vote in polls and review on-air schedules.
CNN Enhanced TV will make many of the latest stories from CNN.com available at any given time across a range of categories, including Top Stories, U.S. & World, Technology & Science, Sports, Showbiz & Health and Business.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Want to email or reprint this story? Click here for options.
sweaty75
18 years ago
NBC Universal, DISH Network Team to Deliver Dynamic Interactive and HD 2006 Olympic Winter Games Coverage; Multiple Channels on One Screen Let Viewers Quickly Select the NBC Universal Channel They Want to Watch
ENGLEWOOD, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 6, 2006--
NBC Network Olympic Broadcast Available in High Definition
EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) announced today that its DISH Network(TM) satellite TV service is teaming for the second year with NBC Olympics to create the NBC Interactive TV (ITV) mosaic, a multiple picture-in-picture showcase designed to deliver an array of NBC Universal's network assets, including the channels that will carry the 2006 Olympic Winter Games coverage from Feb. 10 through Feb. 26.
New to this year's mosaic is the NBC Olympics Showcase, providing viewers with access to information such as medal counts, updated television listings and select athlete biographies. DISH Network also announced today that it will broadcast the NBC Olympic coverage in high definition available to all DISH Network HD viewers.
The mosaic will allow viewers to monitor six channels on a single TV screen and select the competition or program that they want to view in normal, full-screen format. DISH Network customers can view five NBC Universal networks simultaneously: MSNBC, CNBC, USA, Bravo and SCI FI, three of which will broadcast NBC's Olympic coverage. A sixth screen will show NBC's Daily Olympic Highlights, as well as a preview of upcoming Olympic events to be aired across the NBC Universal networks.
"The NBC mosaic lets DISH Network customers quickly preview on a single screen what events are on each network and then watch on a full screen whichever competition interests them the most," said Eric Sahl, senior vice president of Programming for DISH Network. "The mosaic is an extraordinary addition to the TV marketplace and serves as a platform for DISH Network's advanced 25 virtual and enhanced ITV channels."
"NBC Universal is excited to partner with EchoStar to offer the 2006 Winter Olympics," commented David Zaslav, NBC Universal Cable. "Our unprecedented cable coverage this year will provide viewers with a more extensive and interactive Olympics experience including up-to-the-minute updates and medal count."
Viewers can access the NBC mosaic or the NBC Olympics Showcase through "DISH Home" on Ch. 100, or by selecting a trigger that will appear on the NBC Showcase commercial. Only subscribers to America's Top 120 programming package or higher will be able to view MSNBC.
The mosaic was built by OpenTV (Nasdaq:OPTV) and the NBC Olympics Showcase Enhanced TV application was created by Pixel Play, both leading providers of ITV systems and applications.
About EchoStar
EchoStar Communications Corporation (Nasdaq:DISH) serves more than 12 million satellite TV customers through its DISH Network(TM), the fastest-growing U.S. provider of advanced digital television services in the last five years. DISH Network offers hundreds of video and audio channels, Interactive TV, HDTV, sports and international programming, together with professional installation and 24-hour customer service. Visit EchoStar's DISH Network at www.dishnetwork.com or call 800-333-DISH (3474).
About NBC
NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates the No. 1 television network, the fastest-growing Spanish-language network, a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.
Artwork: A screenshot of the six windows on one screen, with each screen showing a different competition, is available at www.dishnetwork.com/pressroom in the image gallery.
callsandputs
21 years ago
Interactive Television:
The Gold Rush is On
From the web site again...
http://www.opentv.com/company/news/newsletter/2003_q2/goldrush.html
There was a time when broadcasters viewed interactivity services as a nice-to-have feature, but not crucial to their bottom line. But times are changing.
In the U.K. a gold rush is on among a whole swathe of channels that survive solely on iTV revenues.
Channels like "Chat Box" and "Txt Me" carry scrolling text messages from television viewers that allow them to chat and flirt with one another. To send a message costs between
80 cents and $1.70. And there is no shortage of viewers wanting to express their opinions - both channels are available 24 hours a day. The new interactive services, built using OpenTV technology, are springing up on the U.K.'s biggest digital network, Sky Digital.
Already more than 25% of viewers in satellite broadcaster Sky Digital's 6.3 million homes regularly push the "red" interactive button on their remote control to vote in news polls or for their favorite contestant on a reality show, order pizzas or product brochures or place a bet. In 2002, the satellite broadcaster earned $298 million in interactive revenues.
But when it comes to making real money for new channel operators, the focus is on betting and gambling.
By 2005, European interactive gaming revenues are expected to reach $15.4 billion. According to research agency Schema, Britain will account for more than half of that total. The company predicts that iTV gambling will earn U.K. companies $1.7 billion by 2005 (against $6.4 billion for Internet gambling in the U.S.).
Avago is one of the new "red button" channels powered by OpenTV technology. Launched by Digital Interactive Television Group in July 2002, this is a mass-market entertainment service that claims to bring the thrills of a Las Vegas gaming hall to armchair punters through their set-top boxes.
The channel made record operating profits after only two months on air and is expected to bring in $19 million in revenues in its first year of business. It's enough to make their traditional TV rivals green with envy.
Avago's 70,000 registered users pay 40 cents to download a virtual bingo card which allows them to bet on an array of bingo-related fixed odds games that run live for 12 hours a day.
Viewers are ratcheting up more than $640,000 per month in winnings and each can win as much as $480 per week. And what's in it for Avago? A share of the betting income as well as a cut of the phone revenue generated while people play on-screen.
Avago's success is inspiring others to launch betting channels on Sky Digital. Leisure and entertainment group Rank has created a bingo-style channel, " Fancy A Flutter". For a minimum stake of 35 cents, players can win up to $830,000 payouts, with winnings credited to registered debit or credit cards. The target audience is mainly female customers who attend Rank's Mecca bingo halls.
Chief Executive Mike Smith says the iTV venture will "further strengthen the Rank brand as a leader in gaming, generating new revenue and customers".
Meanwhile another network is using interactivity to redefine home shopping. "BidupTV" is a fast-paced auction channel where viewers bid for everything from Chrysler cars to Cotes du Rhone wine.
To bid on an item, viewers phone a premium rate number, entering the amount they're prepared to pay using the keypad. If theirs is the winning bid, the network calls back for address and credit card details.
Ashley Faull, one of BidupTV's founders, says he is now evaluating the possibility of automating the process through set-top boxes, so viewers can bid using their remote controls.
Interestingly, whereas QVC's demographic is predominantly women aged 30 to 50 with a couple of kids, 53% of
BidupTV's audience is male, young and mid-market with a higher-than-average disposable income. "It must be something to do with bringing out the hunter gatherer instinct in males," says Faull.
But can such channels survive the increasing fragmentation of television audiences? According to Andrew Curry, a director at The Henley Centre, the research arm of global advertising giant, WPP, digital TV's ability to service these niches actually means services like BidupTV and Avago will be among the most resilient as traditional TV usage becomes increasingly ambient. Clearly the interactive marketplace - and the number of viewers ready to bid, buy, gamble and bet, is only going one way. Up.
callsandputs
21 years ago
ENHANCED TV: REVENUE&RATINGS iTV helps ABC and Discovery
stand out from crowded U.S. TV market
Must read IMHO..from the OPTV web site.....
http://www.opentv.com/company/news/newsletter/2003_q1/enhanced.html
ENHANCED TV:
DRIVING REVENUE AND RATINGS
iTV helps ABC and Discovery stand out from crowded U.S. TV market
Single screen interactivity - where enhanced content is directly linked to individual shows - is becoming so common in some European countries that old fashioned viewing could soon be a thing of the past.
However, many industry executives are unaware that the same services are starting to take off in North America.
Major networks such as Walt Disney Company-owned ABC have found that deploying "pro-sync" single-screen enhanced TV can help them win a bigger slice of the $53 billion TV advertising pie by giving advertisers new sponsorship opportunities, allowing advertisers to keep viewers more engaged with their ads, and possibly increasing ratings on
the network.
ABC engaged its iTV technology partner Wink Communications (OpenTV's interactive advertising subsidiary), to enhance the Bowl Championship Series in January - the climax of the college football year. It has also used Wink to enhance The American Music Awards, making it the first major network awards show to carry interactive content.
In another first, ABC enhanced the promotional spots for the awards program leading up to the show, which not only served to remind viewers to tune in, but also gave the show's sponsor - Coca Cola - additional advertising inventory.
The interactive AMA promos provided trivia about the featured artists, including the hosts, the Osbournes, and were cleverly branded to ensure viewers knew the show was being sponsored by Coca-Cola. Another new feature that debuted during the AMAs was the Coke-branded "attract icon", the on-screen button that lets viewers know that
Wink-enabled interactivity is available with the click of their remote control. The icon was reshaped to resemble
Coca-Cola's logo.
"It's the first time we enhanced a network promo with a sponsor's message inside it and the first time we've changed
the attract icon to simulate the sponsor's logo. By enhancing its ads in the AMAs, Coke was able to leverage its sponsorship dollars to achieve tremendous value," says John Gee, Vice President of Sales at Wink.
"This truly demonstrates Wink's unique ability to give an advertiser new branding opportunities thoroughly integrated
in and around the show it is sponsoring. It also gives our network partners an additional revenue source."
The promo spots also proved a hit with interactive viewers. The Wink Response Network showed that the rate of interaction was three to four times higher than usual and that the average interactive viewer tuned into the enhanced features for between 4.5 and 5 minutes each.
"Given the methodology Nielsen uses to credit viewership to a network, the longer you can keep viewers tuned in,
the better the chances are that network will experience an increase in ratings. And when every rating point can mean millions in advertising revenue, that's significant." says Gee.
For cable networks which claim to have been under-measured by the Nielsen ratings system, this could prove increasingly important.
Cable giant Discovery is among the iTV pioneers in the U.S. Its latest venture into interactivity, The Learning Channel's guerrilla home redecorating show Trading Spaces Live, became the highest rated hour in TLC's history.
"Discovery was the first to really look at interactivity in a major way to reinforce their brand with viewers and it's the network that always rises to the top of people's perceptions as the strongest brand," says Tracey Whiteley, Wink's Director of Advertising and Research.
NBC, CBS and many others are also investing in pro-synch enhanced TV. And alongside the likes of OpenTV and Disney, programmers such as ESPN, Turner Broadcasting System Inc., and Game Show Network are among the
major backers of the Interactive Television Alliance, a newly formed organization designed to spur growth in iTV
The pioneers are convinced that iTV is changing the TV paradigm. In the U.K., for example, viewers are switching to digital and interactive TV at more than twice the speed they bought videos or home computers - with nearly half of all homes now signed up to the digital era.
"Participation TV is here to stay, it's not a fad," says Ashley Highfield, Director of New Media and Technology at
Britain's BBC.
Highfield says the BBC's ‘Test the Nation' program, a national IQ test packaged in an entertainment format, was Britain's biggest enhanced TV show so far. Twenty-two per cent of the show's 9.1 million viewers participated either through their remote controls or on the Web. On the back of its success, the BBC is planning further event TV programs, which start and end with interactivity, including one that will commemorate the anniversary of the Second World War. The publicity will start months ahead to create an interactive community before the programs themselves are launched.
"It's a completely different way of looking at TV," enthuses Highfield. "And we're working on a feedback mechanism
for every program we broadcast, so you can find out about a program after it has aired. That part of the kit becomes available this year to all our producers."
Commercial broadcasters may feel envious of the millions the taxpayer-funded BBC is able to spend on interactive television. But in the big money world of American TV, where the quest for higher ratings and increased revenues is never ending, the smartest broadcasters are discovering that program-synchronous enhanced television can help achieve both: viewers can get closer to their favorite shows and advertisers can reach those viewers in ways no other medium
can offer.
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