Lisa Hsia is in charge of, among other things, interactive TV and wireless at US basic cable channel, Bravo. She recently spoke to [itvt]'s Tracy Swedlow about the surprisingly strong response to the channel's first single-screen ITV application, about how offering a show on multiple platforms can increase viewership of that show's linear airings, about Bravo's future plans for single-screen interactivity, and more.
[itvt]: What are your responsibilities at Bravo?
Hsia: I'm the SVP of new media. So I oversee all of interactive TV and wireless, as well as some electronic sell-through for Bravo.
[itvt]: How does Bravo's senior management view interactivity? How high is it on their list of priorities?
Hsia: We look at interactive as a huge opportunity--and as a long-term revenue play. I would say that there's interest at the highest level--both at Bravo and at NBC--in pursuing interactive and wireless initiatives.
On every one of our big programs, we are taking a multiplatform, 360-degree approach. Plus, we're blessed that Bravo viewers tend to be big consumers of media, and extremely tech-savvy people who love to have their gadgets at their ready. So when we work on a program, we try to be as multiplatform as possible. For instance, on "Project Runway," we've got six interactive multiplatform initiatives going on. Two of them are SMS campaigns: one of those is kind of a behind-the-scenes application that sends you messages from the show's contestants; the other one lets you adopt a designer and get downloadables as part of that. We also have a "Project Runway" WAP site with a lot of exclusive content. And we're doing weekly live voting. One thing we've been doing for the past two weeks or so is "Runway Fan Favorite"--allowing people to vote for their favorite contestant. So the viewers are getting to vote on who they think should win "Project Runway." We're also on Amp'd Mobile: we offer "Project Runway" video on that service. And "Project Runway" is also on iTunes: if you look on iTunes, it's regularly number one--or at least in one of the top five slots.
So we offer our audience "Project Runway" content on a variety of different platforms besides regular TV--and I think that this is something that the Bravo viewer has come to expect from us.
[itvt]: As I recall, you also offered a single-screen set-top box application to accompany "Top Chef"…
Hsia: Yes. We're very interested in doing one- and two-screen interactivity. The only experience we've had with it thus far was, as you mentioned, on the first season of "Top Chef." We did a one-screen application with Time Warner. It was fantastic, and we gleaned a significant amount of knowledge about our viewers from that experience. The application allowed you--if you were a Time Warner Cable customer--to use your remote to vote as questions were posed on the screen. 
For the first few weeks, the participation rates were around 4 or 5%. And then it just started to gradually rise and rise, until we were seeing participation rates of around 30%. So it was clear that a significant number of our viewers wanted to interact with the show. They were really interested in answering questions, and really wanted to say who they thought should pack their knives and go. I think that they found this interactivity to be a fun, rewarding experience. Offering that app allowed us to glean a lot of evidence that the Bravo viewer wants to interact. So we hope to do a lot more of that kind of thing.
[itvt]: Does that mean that the next season of "Top Chef" will offer set-top box-based interactivity?
Hsia: Nothing to announce, yet. But I think there will be some good news soon.
[itvt]: Are you also interested in doing set-top box apps for "Project Runway"?
Hsia: Yes. We would absolutely like to do set-top box interactivity for "Project Runway" 4. We're already in discussions with sales and with our affiliates
group--our cable group--about that possibility. As I mentioned, we had a lot of success with single-screen interactivity on "Top Chef," so we're hoping we'll have the opportunity to do more.
[itvt]: I understand that Bravo is about to offer programming on-demand. Which of your shows are you planning to offer on-demand first and on which cable platforms?
Hsia: "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and "Queer Eye" on Cablevision and Comcast.
[itvt]: You're also now offering programs on iTunes. How's that working out for you?
Hsia: iTunes has been fantastic. As you know, Apple doesn't release hard numbers--but just take a look at the top 100 for the last couple of weeks. The Bravo audience really seems to have an appetite for shows on iTunes.
Shows like "Real Housewives"--new, original shows--have built up word-of-mouth very quickly, and I think a lot of that has been due to help from electronic sell-through. In the course of their runs, some of our shows have appeared to develop a whole new audience, and their 
numbers have risen consistently. And I think this is because of their accessibility on iTunes. My strong belief is that when you distribute a show on multiple platforms, the platforms only help and enhance one other. We offered the first episode of "Real Housewives" for free. So if you're a consumer, you find it on iTunes, you check it out, you download it, you watch it, you find you like it, and you say to yourself, "Oh. Maybe I should start watching this show on a regular basis." So, far from taking viewers away from regular television, multiplatform distribution actually drives more viewers to your broadcasts.
[itvt]: Do you feel that interactivity also attracts people to scheduled programming?
Hsia: Interactivity is so new here, that we're just beginning to do that kind of research. So I can't give you hard numbers. But I do definitely suspect that interactivity--be it live voting via a one-screen app or SMS, be it an app where you get messages from the contestants as you watch the show, or whatever--makes people want to watch a show in real time, and thus combats the issue that the industry is having with DVR recording. The "Adopt a Designer" SMS campaign we're running for "Project Runway" right now--where you can adopt one of the designers, and they'll send you specific messages during the show--is designed to work with the original broadcast of the show: you have to watch the show live to understand what the messages are referring to.
[itvt]: Presumably, then, Bravo will continue to offer interactivity in association with its shows?
Hsia: Absolutely. We're continuing to explore interactivity. I often look to Europe and what they're doing, there. Sometimes the Far East has some interesting ideas, as well. So I absolutely want to continue to explore that space and figure out what's appropriate for Bravo.
[itvt]: Can you say which shows specifically you're planning to add interactivity to?
Hsia: As many as we can!
[itvt]: Can you say whether Bravo will continue to work with Navic on single-screen ITV applications?
Hsia: Navic was a great partner to us and we look forward to working together again.
[itvt]: Is Bravo interested in participation TV?
Hsia: I think participation TV is definitely something we want to look at. I'm currently looking at a lot of different things and figuring out what's appropriate for Bravo. For right now, though, things like WAP sites are just a fantastic additive experience, in my opinion. They're almost like DVD extras: you get content you wouldn't get just from watching the program itself.
Nevertheless, I'm also very interested in things like mobile chat and gaming. I'm particularly interested in chat--in allowing fans to talk to one another. This would be especially appropriate for reality television, where the fans are really avid and seem likely to want to communicate with one another--or, for that matter, to play games against one other.
[itvt]: If the infrastructure for single-screen interactive TV were more widely deployed in the US, do you have a "fantasy application," so to speak, that you would like to do?
Hsia: I wouldn't say that I have a specific fantasy application. I think what our goal at Bravo is, is to give the fans and viewers of our shows 1) the ability to watch those shows when they want to and on whatever platform they want to, and 2) to enhance their viewing experience in whatever ways seem appropriate for the individual shows.
[itvt]: How are advertisers responding to your interactive offerings?
Hsia: There seems to be increasing interest on the part of the advertising community. Obviously, we hope to reap the fruits of that interest. Luckily, advertisers are getting much more tech-savvy. And--in just the past six months--they seem to have gained a deeper understanding of the advertising possibilities in the interactive space. For example, Treseme sponsored SMS pieces for "Project Runway" 3 and Saturn sponsored live voting for "Project Runway" 2. "Top Chef" 2 has received a lot of advertiser interest and you'll see sponsorships on many of our multiplatform offerings.
Originally Published: September 21, 2006 in [itvt] Issue 6.95
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