--Zappware Supplies ITV Apps to Four Flemish Regional TV Stations
Belgian interactive TV technology provider, Zappware (note: the company recently appointed Patrick Vos, who had headed up its international sales efforts, as CEO, in what it said was part of an ongoing strategy to focus more on international markets--see [itvt] Issue 8.23 Part 1), announced last month that it has been selected by Nagravision, a Kudelski Group-owned provider of content-security technology, to help develop a custom suite of interactive TV applications for use with VOD and VOD-related services. The applications, which will be part of Nagravision's NagraGuide suite of interactive apps, will include VOD catalog, catch-up TV, and start-over TV apps. Nagravision plans to deploy the apps on set-top boxes running OpenTV middleware on cable and satellite hybrid platforms (note: OpenTV is also part of the Kudelski Group). "We are extremely proud to have been selected by Nagravision," Zappware's Patrick Vos said in a prepared statement. "It confirms our expertise in the field of multiplatform development, and our ability to deliver complex but reliable end-to-end services such as VOD with the fastest possible time-to-market." Nagravision bills its NagraGuide application suite as "specifically designed to optimize the end-user experience on today's set-top boxes and PVR's integrated with Nagravision's conditional access and on-demand technologies."
In other Zappware news: In January, the company announced that four Flemish-language regional television stations--atv, TV Oost, TV Limburg and TV Brussel--had tapped it to deliver two new interactive TV applications for Telenet's digital cable platform, based on its off-the-shelf iFormats offering. (Note: according to Zappware, its iFormats are built with a modular design that facilitates rebranding, customization and deployment on multiple TV platforms. They are designed for use with Zappware's iView Platform--which the company bills as a platform-independent production environment--and can be updated and scheduled with content by customers in-house.)
The iFormat applications that Zappware is providing to the four stations are:
--iFormat for DirectAccess. According to the company, this app consists of a pop-up menu which is displayed as an overlay on the TV screen when the viewer presses the red button, and which allows the viewer to continue to watch programming in full-screen mode while interacting. The menu contains shortcuts to various services offered by a broadcaster, such as a digital teletext page, a programming microsite, a quiz, an interactive ad, a sponsor microsite, or VOD content.
--iFormat for Digital Teletext. According to the company, this app provides the viewer with full-color teletext pages, complete with rich images, easy-to-read fonts, faster and easier navigation and more control. The viewer can continue to watch programming in an on-screen window while browsing a broadcaster's teletext content or participating in interactive activities on a broadcaster's teletext site, such as quizzes, polls and interactive advertising. Zappware says that the Digital Teletext iFormat interfaces "seamlessly" with third-party content providers and can integrated VOD content.
"At atv we are strong believers in the possibilities of digital teletext," atv general manager, Frank Bell, said in a prepared statement. "Not only for text-driven services (more than 30% of our viewers use teletext to get program information) but also for commercial services. The possibility to add pictures and video and not only text creates almost unlimited opportunities for advertisers. The reason why we selected Zappware is obvious. Their applications have been proven to be technically solid. On top of their technical expertise they succeed in empathizing with the broadcaster, the advertiser and the viewer." Added Paul Israel, director of media partnerships at Telenet: "We are very happy that the regional TV stations go fully interactive with new applications behind the red button and the digital teletext. From now on interactive digital TV at the regional TV stations is a fact and it proves that it is actually the interactive component of digital television which is key in the platform's success."
