CommerceTel--a company that has developed a patent-pending, IP-based software technology, called CallForContent, which links mobile messaging networks with the public telephone network and lets users interact with TV shows through a standard 10-digit telephone number and interactive voice response--has signed a deal with Jeff Mirkin Productions, under which the latter will use CommerceTel's technology to add interactive elements to TV shows currently in production. According to CommerceTel, Jeff Mirkin Productions plans to add viewer participation features, such as voting, contest entry, and content distribution, to those shows (note: Jeff Mirkin has produced such shows as Fox's "Greed," GSN's "Poker Royale," and NBC's remake of "Let's Make a Deal"): "The ability for users to interact with TV using their phones is one of the most exciting TV trends I've seen and CommerceTel has figured out a way to make it easy and more profitable than ever," Jeff Mirkin, who serves as CEO of his company, said in a prepared statement. "Using CommerceTel technology, which enables mobile TV interaction in a way far simpler than traditional texting and keywords, we will be able to specifically design shows that entertain and engage viewers with truly exciting features that go beyond voting to include contest entry, coupon distribution, as well as ringtone, screensaver and video content downloads. The benefits to television producers in terms of their ability to attract, develop and retain viewers is invaluable."
CommerceTel touts its technology as eliminating user obstacles to mobile TV interaction, in that it renders it unnecessary for viewers to remember keywords and to text those keywords to shortcodes on their mobiles, or to navigate mobile phone menus when they want to download something: instead, the company says, they simply dial a toll-free phone number from their mobile or fixed-line phone, and then listen to a menu of options, to which they respond via touchtone input. According to CommerceTel, the first Jeff Mirkin Productions TV shows to incorporate its technology will be announced before the end of the year.
Originally Published: November 6, 2006 in [itvt] Issue 7.03 Part 2
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