Miniweb Commercially Launches its TV Keys Service on Sky

UK-based Miniweb has commercially launched its TV Keys service (note: the company, which was founded by former BSkyB interactive TV executive, Ian Valentine, recently raised $32 million in new funding and appointed a new CEO--see [itvt] Issue 8.06 Part 1). The service, which is available on the Sky satellite TV platform, is billed as enabling broadcasters and advertisers to repurpose Internet content as interactive enhancements to their shows or commercials, thus providing an inexpensive way to launch interactive TV services that offer Internet-style measurability (note: Miniweb calls the version of its service that is targeted at broadcasters "Key & See"). It is based on the BSkyB-developed WTVML standard, which is supported by around 9 million set-top boxes, and which was originally used to power the operator's Skynet service. The phrase, "TV Keys," refers to numeric codes that Miniweb sells to its clients and that can spell out a brand name or simply a word describing the kinds of products and services sold by a company (for example, the TV Key, "46553297," would spell out "HOLIDAY" on the remote control keypad): when a TV Key appears on the screen, viewers can punch it in via their remotes in order to trigger the interactive enhancements that the service enables (dubbed "TV Sites" by Miniweb). Like a URL, TV Keys allow viewers to access those enhancements at any time, and can therefore be used in print and other non-TV advertising, as well as in time-shifted/recorded video, in order to direct consumers to an advertiser's interactive services. "By combining Web-style measurement and targeting with the high impact of television, Miniweb's TV Keys enable companies to make the most of their advertising and marketing budgets," Miniweb marketing director, Andrew Noble, said in a prepared statement. "The launch of our TV Keys service into 9 million UK Sky homes means that interactive TV is now an important and viable part of the marketing mix." Added Miniweb's new CEO, Andrew Carver: "The launch of TV Keys is an important part of the Miniweb strategy to deliver innovative, standards-based interactive solutions that allow broadcasters, network operators, content owners and advertisers to easily and cost-effectively deliver new value-adding services. With TV Keys, we are providing the consumer with the easiest route to interactivity from the comfort of a sofa without the need for a PC, enabling the broadest interactive experiences with a TV remote control."

According to Miniweb, TV Keys can be purchased by geographic region--ranging from the whole of the UK to a specific county--depending on a company's or brand's targeting requirements. The company claims that its offering (i.e. TV Sites accessed by TV Keys) represents a "step change" in the economics of delivering interactive TV services: it touts TV Keys as functioning as a trigger for consumer interaction that is "affordable, personalized and actionable at any time," unlike red-button solutions, which are "expensive to deploy and cannot be accessed while viewing time-shifted or PVR-recorded video." Miniweb's TV Keys service can now be accessed through the first page of Sky's Interactive Main Menu, alongside Sky's own interactive TV content.

In related news: A company called Proxama has launched a service which it says is designed to help brands with Web and mobile Internet sites to take advantage of the TV Keys service. The company says the service will help brands repurpose their existing Internet content into TV Sites and develop new transactional services on those sites. It claims the service "covers the whole process of creating a TV Site from content and design strategy, to service innovation--including integration with other technologies such as mobile and near field communications--hosting and go-live." "Developing an interactive TV presence has never been as simple or cost-effective as this, and it is a great opportunity for brands looking for new ways to engage with customers as part of a multichannel strategy," Proxama CEO, Neil Garner, said in a prepared statement. "What's more, because this Web-like TV presence can be clearly targeted at specific customer groups, the results are easy to measure. The launch of TV Keys is a really exciting development for brands that may have been prevented from building TV into their multiplatform strategy due to the cost and timescales. We have been involved in the development of Miniweb Interactive's TV platform since the beginning and are well placed to help companies get the best from it."