News Round-Up

Here is a round-up of some other recent interactive TV-related stories that we didn't have room for in this issue:

• Cyber International Technology has announced the launch of its Tivia System, which it describes as a "groundbreaking, home-media platform that combines the convenience of television programming, video-on-demand, personal computing, advanced advertising and shopping, voice-over-IP telephone, video conferencing, email, and more." The company is demo'ing the solution, together with various peripherals, at the upcoming NAB Show in Las Vegas (LVCC South Upper Hall, Booth SU8013)
• Earlier this week, an All-Boards meeting of the Producers Guild of America (PGA) ratified a new "Transmedia Producer" credit, according to an article by Deadline.com's Nikki Finke. "This Guild-wide adoption is unprecedented as it will allow executives who expand storylines of franchises onto multiple platforms to receive official credit on these projects as 'Transmedia Producers,'" Finke writes. "These producers develop cross-platform storylines on Film, Television, Short Film, Broadband, Publishing, Comics, Animation, and Mobile--and now, they'll be credited with an official title. I'm told this is a historic move for the PGA because the guild rarely backs new credits." The PGA defines a "transmedia producer" as follows: "A Transmedia Narrative project or franchise must consist of three (or more) narrative storylines existing within the same fictional universe on any of the following platforms: Film, Television, Short Film, Broadband, Publishing, Comics, Animation, Mobile, Special Venues, DVD/Blu-ray/CD-ROM, Narrative Commercial and Marketing rollouts, and other technologies that may or may not currently exist. These narrative extensions are NOT the same as repurposing material from one platform to be cut or repurposed to different platforms.//A Transmedia Producer credit is given to the person(s) responsible for a significant portion of a project's long-term planning, development, production, and/or maintenance of narrative continuity across multiple platforms, and creation of original storylines for new platforms. Transmedia producers also create and implement interactive endeavors to unite the audience of the property with the canonical narrative and this element should be considered as valid qualification for credit as long as they are related directly to the narrative presentation of a project.//Transmedia Producers may originate with a project or be brought in at any time during the long-term rollout of a project in order to analyze, create or facilitate the life of that project and may be responsible for all or only part of the content of the project. Transmedia Producers may also be hired by or partner with companies or entities, which develop software and other technologies and who wish to showcase these inventions with compelling, immersive, multiplatform content.//To qualify for this credit, a Transmedia Producer may or may not be publicly credited as part of a larger institution or company, but a titled employee of said institution must be able to confirm that the individual was an integral part of the production team for the project."
• Kiosk-based movie rental service provider, Redbox, has sent its customers a survey, asking them to rate their interest in a streaming video service that would be priced at $3.95 per month (i.e. less than half the price of the minimum subscription needed to access rival Netflix's streaming service), and that would even include four free kiosk rentals, according to an article in High-Def Digest.
• France's Quadrille has announced that TDF, TF1, France Televisions, Arte and NRJ12 are currently trialling its QuadriCast push-VOD solution. According to the company, the trial sees the broadcasters using the solution to deliver on-demand programming over digital terrestrial. "Like satellite, DTT needs to be in a position to offer the same extra services as the IPTV packages, and viewers ought not to be penalized by where they live," Quadrille chairman, Yann Sully, said in a prepared statement. "Modes of consumption are changing, and DTT must respond to this expectation. TDF and its partners in this new experiment on the DTT network in the first quarter of 2010 are fully aware of this."