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As NBC's ratings attest, the network is bringing home the gold in terms of total viewership. So with all those eyeballs, how are first and second screen companion apps doing in terms of monetizing t-commerce? Well some never even entered the competition, others are in training and a select few are bringing home the medals. Here's how I score the field.

Watch with eBay Wins Bronze

If you weren't able to attend TVOT 2012 in San Francisco or attended but didn't have time to check out all the vendor demos, no worries. I made the rounds for you asking the simple question: "Show me the latest."

So from ACR second screen apps to hybrid technology which blends single and dual screen approaches to play along games to t-commerce, here are all the video demos. I've kept each to 1 - 2 minutes so you can move through them quickly.

8 iTV Video Demos from TVOT

The second day of TVOT 2012 in San Francisco was as informative as the first. Plus I had a chance to check out the many companies that had set displays. Here are my highlights along with a video demo. 

An informative, packed first day at The TV of Tomorrow Show  2012 in San Francisco where, my predilection for t-commerce aside, TV shopping was truly front and center.  Here are the highlights that landed in my mental shopping cart:

1. PayPal is All-In: PayPal announced a raft of deals, most importantly with Comcast and TiVo. During his fireside keynote with Tracy Swedlow, TVOT founder, Scott Dunlap, PayPal’s VP of Emerging Opportunities / New Ventures emphasized that PayPal is all about keeping commerce purchasing simple and safe for consumers. They accomplish this by taking “as many steps out of the process” as possible.

This year's Cable Show in Boston was a great opportunity to check out interactive TV demos right on the show floor. Here's another set of videos on everything from video streaming to social TV to t-commerce. For more video demos, see my blog 5 Interactive TV Video Demos from The Cable Show 2012 and check out my YouTube channel iTVcommerce.

Last week's Cable Show in Boston was a great opportunity to check out first-hand interactive television demos on the show floor and hear perspectives on iTV from industry leaders. Here are links to the videos I took that are proving most popular on my YouTube channel iTVCommerce.

1. Demo of Ericsson Multi-Screen Ecosystem at Cable Show 2012

2. Demo of SocialGuide Intelligence at Cable Show 2012

Here's the video I mentioned in my earlier blog where Piers Morgan interviews Conan O'Brien. Conan is very articulate on the evolution of his social TV strategy. This video is a bit longer than what I usual post but worth your time if you're interested in social TV - and who isn't?

The final day’s action shifted from the exhibit floor to the General Session, featuring a great interview by Piers Morgan of Conan O’Brien, and a first-rate session on Social TV.

1. Conan O’Brien isn’t just funny, he knows social TV. Conan explained that a few years back when he decided to embrace change (we all know the story), he also decided to embrace social media as a strategy to engage his amazingly loyal core of fans. From a standing start, he and his team has created one of the most robust social TV strategies around.

With The Cable Show in high gear, I started the day early and went straight through to closing. Here's a snapshot of key iTV points made by one or more industry experts during the day.

1. Putting viewers in control of how they engage logically leads to giving them a choice of screens on which to engage. Softel's CEO Sam Pemberton underscored this during my one-on-one meeting with him as well as in his demo at Imagine Park of their just launched MediaSphere Bridge Ecosystem, a cool new take on engaging viewers on multiple screens.

Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to guy for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.

Will Keller, President, Interactive TV Commerce, is the go-to guy for t-commerce sales strategy and execution. For more iTV insights, subscribe to Inside the Screen or follow him @iTVcommerce.

NCTA's Cable Show started off with a rousing U2 song played entirely on iPads. Here are other themes that I heard above the din during day one.

1. What the consumer wants he or she will (eventually) find a way to get. Discovery Communication's CEO David Zaslav articulated that point in the opening session. So better for the industry to get behind consumer behaviors driving TV Everywhere.

2. Multi-screen capabilities are table stakes just like HD became table stakes a few years back. Ericsson's Matthew Goldman, SVP Technology CTO Group, made this point prior to cuing up a demo of their multi-screen ecosystem solution (check out my video of the demo below).

Multichannel News, Broadcast & Cable and TV Technology recently presented a day-long set of sessions entitled TV Everywhere: The Time is Now.

According to the assembled iTV experts the time is indeed now but participants would be wise to listen to their experiences and avoid key pitfalls. Panelists emphasized rapid learning from deploying TV Everywhere services as they gathered data from usage, focus groups and customers.

8 Learnings from the Tech and UI Experts

This week's inaugural Cynopsis Sports Summit in NYC featured an all-star panel line-up. Here's my highlight reel:

NASCAR Keynote speaker CMO Steve Phelps outlined the company's recent strategic transformation:

T-Commerce is Bigger Than You Think

According to the DMA (Direct Marketing Association), TV direct response sales (e.g., infomercials etc.) totaled $1.5 trillion in the past four years:

2008 - $392 billion
2009 - $356 billion
2010 - $383 billion
2011 - $430 billion

Source: DMA

5 T-Commerce iTV Strategies Poised to Grow

So given this pot of tv-driven sales, where should you look for more interactive television commerce revenue? Here are five t-commerce sales strategies to follow: