InteractiveTV Today [itvt]

TiVo Appoints Company Insider and Ex-NBC Exec, Tom Rogers, as CEO

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

DVR vendor/service provider, TiVo, has appointed a company insider, veteran media executive, Tom Rogers, as president and CEO, to succeed its co-founder, Mike Ramsay, who announced that he would step down as CEO in January.

USA Video Files Notice of Appeal in Movielink VOD Patent Case

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

USA Video says that has filed a notice of appeal in the District of Delaware. The appeal, which will be heard by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, challenges the District Court's decision earlier this year to grant studio- backed Web-based VOD service, Movielink (the company is a joint venture between MGM studios, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Studios), a motion of summary judgment in the VOD patent-infringement case that USA Video brought against it in April, 2003.

AFI Digital Content Lab Reveals Fall '05 Workshop Participants

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

The American Film Institute Digital Content Lab (DCL) has announced the six content providers whose programming will be transformed into prototypes for interactive TV and other interactive media under the auspices of its Fall '05 Workshop: A&E Television Networks, Reuters, Simmons Lathan Media Group, Telemundo, WWE, and Zodiac Gaming.

MTV UK Hires Angel Gambino to Head Up Digital Strategy

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

MTV Networks UK has appointed Angel Gambino, who was previously controller of business development and emerging platforms at the BBC (a role that will cease to exist as a result of the corporation's planned restructuring), to head up its digital strategy.

EchoStar Invests $9 Million in Portable DVR Company, Archos

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

US satellite-TV provider, EchoStar (operates the DISH Network), has made a $9 million investment in Archos, the company which it announced last January will be supplying it with portable DVR's.

BT to Use Microsoft TV's IPTV Edition for Planned Broadband TV Service

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

Microsoft's Microsoft TV division has scored a significant "win" for its IPTV Edition platform. The company revealed yesterday that UK incumbent telco, BT, will use IPTV Edition to enable its planned ITV- and VOD-enabled IPTV service.

Alticast, IMAKE to Collaborate on Open-Standards VOD and ITV Solutions

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:44:16 -0700

Bethesda, Maryland-based VOD technology company, IMAKE (customers include MSO Comcast), has signed a partnership and integration agreement with Korean MHP and OCAP specialist, Alticast, that calls for the companies to develop and market open standards-based end-to-end VOD and ITV solutions for cable operators and telcos.

Ensequence Enables Interactivity on DISH Network Information Channel

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:39:05 -0700

Portland, Oregon-based interactive TV authoring tools provider, Ensequence, says that US satellite TV provider, EchoStar, has deployed its technology and is using it to add interactivity to the information channel (Channel 101) it offers subscribers of its DISH Network service.

TiVo Teams with Microsoft, Intel on TiVoToGo Upgrade

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:55:59 -0700

DVR vendor/service provider, TiVo, has teamed with Microsoft and Intel on an upgrade to its TiVoToGo service (enables end-users to transfer recorded programming from their DVR's hard drive to a laptop or PC) that will allow end-users to transfer TiVo-recorded content stored on a Microsoft Windows XP-based PC onto Windows Mobile-based Portable Media Centers powered by Intel Mobile Media Technology, as well as onto newer Windows Mobile-based Smartphones and Pocket PC's.

BBC's Wimbledon ITV Service Proving Successful

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:56:54 -0700

The BBC is once again offering an interactive TV service to accompany its coverage of the annual Wimbledon tennis championship. Digital satellite (Sky) and digital cable (ntl and Telewest) customers can press the red button to reach an app that allows them to use their remote's up and down keys to switch between video feeds from five courts (including the live broadcast on BBC One or BBC Two), each accompanied by live commentary.

New Sky Portal to Make Web Pages Available via Interactive TV

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:57:26 -0700

BSkyB's interactive TV arm, Sky Interactive, earlier this month officially announced plans to launch an ITV portal later this year that will allow Web site operators to make their sites available to Sky satellite subscribers. (Note: it was no secret that Sky Interactive planned to offer such a portal: information on its plans has been available for some time now on its Web site.) Sky Interactive says that it hopes to attract a wide range of Web site operators to the portal, including ebusiness operators, non-profit organizations and individuals: it claims that its goals for the portal are both to broaden the range of interactive services available on its platform (it says that those services are currently accessed by 10 million viewers per month) and to "stimulate further innovation in the interactive TV arena."

Zodiac, Arroyo Team to Deliver Games through Arroyo's VOD Platform

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:58:19 -0700

Interactive TV games developer, Zodiac Gaming, is partnering with Arroyo, a company that offers VOD servers based on industry-standard hardware, on an integrated solution that will allow its games to be delivered to digital set-top boxes from the Arroyo Video Platform, while that platform is also delivering VOD services.

Canada's Bell ExpressVu Offering Buzztime Trivia Games

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:58:43 -0700

Canadian pay-TV operator, Bell ExpressVu, is now offering a trivia gaming service from NTN-subsidiary, Buzztime, on its Game Galaxy interactive TV games portal (note: located on channel 550 of the Bell ExpressVu EPG, the portal features 30 free and subscription-based games, including PixelPlay's KidsWise and Visiware's Playin'Casino and Playin'TV services).

NPOWR Says its stimTV Network will Launch in October

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:59:16 -0700

Presumably in response to the ongoing roll-out of VOD by UK digital cable providers, ntl and Telewest, BSkyB plans to offer an Internet-based VOD service that will allow end-users to view movies and Sky Sports programming on their PC's. The service, which will launch later this year, will be available to subscribers of Sky's top-tier programming package, Sky World. At launch, the service will offer around 200 movies, including new- release and library titles; according to Sky, the number of movies available on the service will increase over time. Sky Sports content available on the service will include game highlights, interviews, program clips, and Sky Sports News bulletins.

Comcast in Major VOD Movie Deal with Starz

Tracy Swedlow's [itvt] — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 02:59:36 -0700

MSO Comcast has signed a major VOD agreement with premium content provider, Starz Entertainment Group (SEG). The deal calls for the companies to offer over 1,500 movies a year from SEG's library on Comcast's VOD service, ON DEMAND. The deal--which the companies point out is the largest VOD movie content agreement to date--will also see Comcast launching two new SEG premium linear movie channels on its systems, and will extend the affiliation agreement between the companies into the next decade.