--Platform will Add Community Features to "Games Galaxy" Service
--Oberon also Secures Deals with Gamenext, BSkyB, SweetIM, Telefonica
Oberon Media, the multiplatform casual games company that last year
acquired interactive TV games company, PixelPlay, contacted [itvt]
earlier this week to let us know that it has licensed its JIVE platform to
Bell ExpressVu to support the latter's ITV games service, Games
Galaxy. The platform will enable Bell ExpressVu to offer interactive
TV tournaments, advanced community features and online
leaderboards. These new features will initially be available on Game
Galaxy's Action Arcade and Puzzle Zone areas. Oberon bills JIVE as a
patented, proprietary technology platform that enables the creation,
integration and management of multi-user game experiences and
multi-player cross-platform games on cable, satellite and IPTV
networks, enabling players to participate within those networks and
interact across multiple platforms, including game consoles. According
to Oberon Media's senior director of ITV programming and service
management, Jonathan Boltax, Bell ExpressVu's launch of JIVE
"represents an important milestone for [Oberon Media's] interactive TV
services" because "players now get a richer gaming experience" and
Oberon's relationship with Bell ExpressVu is further solidified. The
relationship between Oberon Media and Bell ExpressVu dates back
five years. Oberon's ITV games are typically based on established
brands, such as "Scrabble," "Monopoly," "World Poker Tour,"
"Slingo," and "Asteroids." Its ITV games portfolio includes licenses
from Hasbro, Atari, WPT Enterprises, and the Learning Company.
In other Oberon Media news: The company said last week that it has
signed deals to launch advertising-supported games channels with Spill
Group's Gamenext, an online games destination that offers various
localized portals; with UK satellite-TV provider, BSkyB; and with
SweetIM, a provider of instant-messaging technologies and content.
The company also said that it has expanded its relationship with
Telefonica, via a deal that will see the latter launching an ad-supported
game channel. "Advertising-supported game channels represent a
significant growth opportunity for Oberon," Oberon Media CEO,
Tomer Ben Kiki, said in a prepared statement.
