Australian pay-TV provider, Foxtel, contacted [itvt] earlier this week to let us know about three new OpenTV-built interactive TV applications that it has launched on its platform in recent weeks:
 Since August 13th, Foxtel digital subscribers watching the FOX8 channel's "Super Simpsons" block (airs Saturday and Sunday mornings) have been able to press the red button to access highlights of four episodes of the cartoon series, "The Simpsons," on a multiscreen mosaic and then vote for the episode they would most like to watch: voting takes place between 9:00AM and 11:00AM, and the episode that garners the most votes is then broadcast at 11:30AM as the final half-hour segment of the "Super Simpsons" block. The application provides real-time vote-total percentages so that viewers can immediately see which episode is receiving the most votes. The app, which is scheduled to run for eight weeks, is sponsored by Domino's Edge Pizza and Allens, which have TVC's running in the program, as well as branding within the app itself. The app also generates revenue via the premium-rate call required to submit a vote.  During and after (i.e. on Wednesdays from 8:30PM to midnight, Australian EST) FOX8's broadcast of the performance episode of the new reality TV series, "Rockstar: INXS," Foxtel digital subscribers can use the red button to vote for their favorite contestant. The votes are submitted back to Foxtel via the set-top backchannel, and then on to Telescope TV, the voting aggregator for the show's producer, Mark Burnett Productions. Once the Thursday show has gone to air, the application is updated with the contestant list for the following week's show. According to Foxtel's senior manager for interactive and enhanced TV, Mark Strong, the new app "has been one of the most successful interactive services we have launched on the platform to date." He added that a key driver of the app's success is "the alignment of the programming concept with the interactive concept," and that "Mark Burnett Productions was extremely supportive in getting the voting windows to work in Australia."  Foxtel digital subscribers watching Fox Sports 1 or Fox Sports 2 can press the red button to access a 24/7 multiscreen application, dubbed Fox Sports News Active, that provides them with a choice of sports news (note: the app, which is promoted via a logo over the linear broadcast, is also available to Austar digital subscribers). The app's main video screen consists of a "mini-bulletin" with the latest sports news and results from Australia and overseas: the bulletin is produced and regularly updated by Fox Sports. The app also includes a scrolling ticker across the bottom of the screen, which provides breaking news and results and gives quick access to scores and news items. In addition, viewers can use a menu of sports categories on the left of the screen to select from a range of news stories, including brief summaries of daily events in each category or more detailed stories. The app also provides the latest competition tables for various major sports, including NRL and AFL. Fox Sports has set up a dedicated news team to provide content for the new service: while the service is broadcast from Foxtel's facilities, Fox Sports has dedicated access in order to manage content from its own facility.
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