Optimistic Entertainment--a UK-based participation TV specialist whose co-founders include David Brook, who was previously director of strategy and development at Channel 4, and Jasper Smith, who previously co-founded and was CEO of Static2358, the company which was behind the PlayJam interactive TV games channel, and which was sold to OpenTV in 2001 for $68 million--has been commissioned by the UK's largest commercial broadcaster, the Independent Television Network (note: the latter is generally referred to by the acronym, ITV), to produce a new series of live, interactive game shows. The formats will air on the broadcaster's digital channel, ITV2, at 1:00AM seven days a week, until mid-March. The first to be rolled out is a live participation show, called "Play Sudoku," based on the popular numbers puzzle: Optimistic, which says that it has delivered over 160 hours of programming for third-party broadcasters since its launch in the fall of 2003, also offers a "Celebrity Sudoku" format on its wholly owned interactive entertainment channel on the Sky platform, QuizNation.
ITV, which offers a similar block of programming, called Quizmania, on its flagship terrestrial channel, ITV1 (note: Quizmania is a joint project between FremantleMedia and talkbackTHAMES) appears to have made a strategic commitment to participation TV: later this year, the broadcaster plans to launch an interactive brand, called "ITV Play," which it says will offer participation TV quizzes and other play formats across its digital channels and on mobiles and the Web. ITV also says that it is in discussions with a number of producers about developing a range of original participation TV formats that will be offered in association with its flagship programs. "Optimistic shares our commitment to making entertaining and high-quality participation formats for our mass-market ITV audiences," Jane Marshall, commercial development director of ITV Consumer, said in a prepared statement. "These shows will further develop our understanding of the commercial opportunities presented by quality 'participation TV' formats, as well as begin to broaden their appeal to our mass-market audiences. We will be monitoring viewers' responses very closely in advance of the launch of the ITV Play brand later this year."
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