Interactive TV News Round-Up (I): BBC Red Button, CableLabs, Cablevision, Comcast

Submitted by tracyswedlow on January 17, 2011 - 11:08pm

--BBC Releases Red-Button Programming Schedule through January 28th
--CableLabs and Cable Europe Labs Agree to Expand their Collaboration
--Cablevision's "Optimum Value" Campaign Highlights Interactive TV Shopping and Advertising Services
--Comcast Launches VOD Offering Commemorating Kennedy Presidency

Here is the first of two round-ups of some other interactive TV-related news stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The BBC has announced the line-up of content that will be available on its red-button interactive TV service through January 28th.
CableLabs and Cable Europe Labs have signed an MOU that calls for them to foster a closer and more extensive working relationship. The MOU establishes a one-year trial program which the two cable R&D organizations say may allow them to develop a longer-term collaboration. "The agreement expands upon informal coordination over the past several years which has seen such collaboration as EuroDOCSIS 3.0 and EuroPacketCable, as well as alignment in certification programs and standards initiatives," the organizations state in their press materials. "Under the terms of the MOU, CableLabs and Cable Europe Labs will each identify certain technical initiatives in which the other organization can more directly participate and contribute...In an effort to foster further collaboration, the laboratories will hold two joint summits annually to focus on mutually agreed upon technologies or projects. The forthcoming summits will see both staff and members of both labs converging to share best practices and latest technologies."
Cablevision has been trumpeting its interactive TV shopping/advertising services, Optimum Autos, Optimum Homes and Optimum Select, as part of its "11 Days of Optimum Value to Kick Off 2011" marketing campaign. The company says that the services now sport a revamped design and a faster interface, and that the Optimum Select ITV advertising service will later this year support "purchases directly through the television."
Comcast has partnered with the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum to launch a VOD offering that commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy presidency. The offering--dubbed "JFK 50 Years On Demand" and available free of charge on Comcast On Demand through February 25th--includes famous speeches, presidential debates, newsreels, campaign commercials, documentaries and other films.