News Round-Up

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue (as well as stories from the ongoing CTAM Summit in Denver, which our editorial team was unable to attend):

• IP set-top box company, Amino Communications, has announced its exhibit plans for next month's Telco TV show (Orlando, Florida, November 10th-12th).
• During a session at the CTAM Summit in Denver, Sunday, Comcast COO, Steve Burke, stressed the importance of the national interactive TV advertising platform envisioned by cable industry-backed advanced advertising company, Canoe Ventures, versus Cablevision's recently launched local interactive TV advertising service, according to an article by Steve Donoghue in Cable Digital News. "I don't think [Cablevision's new interactive TV advertising service] can be a watershed event unless it's national, and I don't think people like Procter & Gamble or Johnson & Johnson want to do things at 10% or 20% or even 30 or 40% of the country: they really want a national platform," he told attendees. He also stated that Comcast's Boston division is currently rolling out EBIF-based interactive TV services, adding that "My bet is you're going to see Comcast-wide applications really start to come out later this year and into 2010." (Note: for more on comments made by Burke during the session, see the article published on itvt.com, October 26th.)
• During a session at the CTAM Summit, Monday, Mark Garner, SVP of distribution, marketing and business development at A&E Television Networks, stated that trials of interactive TV advertising for History channel programming resulted in ratings increases of 15-20% and higher engagement levels than AETN usually sees with broadband ads, according to an article by Kent Gibbons in Multichannel News. In addition, Ensequence CEO, Peter Low, stated that 15-20% of viewers with access to content enhanced with interactive TV applications will use those apps. A full write-up of the panel, which was moderated by Brightline iTV CEO, Jacqueline Corbelli, is available here.
• Comcast is aiming to have some form of interactive TV on 50 networks/channels by the end of 2010, enabled by standard templates that programmers can use to deliver interactive applications, the MSO's SVP of video product development, Todd Walker, stated during a session at the CTAM Summit Monday, according to an article by Jeff Baumgartner in Cable Digital News. Walker, who did not reveal which networks/channels are expected to participate, said that Comcast is planning three categories of interactive TV apps: apps tied to a live TV stream, including polls and RFI ads; widgets (e.g. sports alerts and weather); and apps that serve as extensions to the EPG, allowing customers to, for example, sign up for new services. The session also saw Comcast Media Center COO, Gary Traver, stating that that company's HITS AxIS service (note: the latter--whose name stands for "Headend In The Sky Advanced Interactive Services," and which was developed in collaboration with Vidiom and TVWorks--is a centralized platform that operates on the NAS and DAC headend-management platforms and that is billed as being designed to support developers of advanced OCAP/tru2way and ETV/EBIF interactive TV applications and to facilitate the deployment and management of those applications on cable systems serving small- to mid-sized markets) has to date tested 30 interactive TV apps, which it is now making available to its beta customers, such as Buckeye CableSystem and Sunflower Broadband. Travers said that CMC hopes to launch an app "storefront" from which operators will be able to select from a range of off-the-shelf interactive TV apps that they can quickly deploy to their subscribers. Baumgartner's write-up of the session, which contains additional details, is available here.
• Cox Communications has launched its interactive TV caller ID service in Chesapeake, Virginia. The service is available at no extra charge to customers who subscribe to the MSO's Cox Digital Telephone with Caller ID and Cox Digital Cable services.
• Multiscreen media measurement and research company, Rentrak, has secured a multi-year deal for its OnDemand Essentials audience measurement service with Montreal-based Stingray Digital, which has launched a new music VOD service, called Galaxie Music Videos on Demand, on Rogers Cable. "Video-on-demand is expanding in Canada as operators and content providers are working in concert to develop a business model that will bring more viewing choices to consumers," Carol Hinnant, SVP of business development for Rentrak's Advanced Media and Information division, said in a prepared statement. "Rentrak's leadership role in North America as the only census-level measurement company for video-on-demand content provides the experience and expertise to help operators and content providers, such as Stingray Digital, maximize its growth opportunity." According to Rentrak, OnDemand Essentials processes daily, census-level on-demand data representing 70 million set-top boxes from 33 MSO's (including all the top-25 operators) that offer VOD. The service is subscribed to by over 100 content providers, the company says.
• Former Disney chief Michael Eisner's new media studio, Vuguru, has secured an investment and distribution partnership with Canada's Rogers Media. As part of the deal, Vuguru, which previously operated within Eisner's Tornante Company, becomes a standalone entity, effective immediately; Eisner becomes chairman of the company's board; and Rogers gains long-term exclusive Canadian rights to the company's future projects. Vuguru says it plans to increase its production capacity to 30 series per year, with 10-15 series debuting in 2010.