channel 4

• Sling Media says it will soon let users that buy its place-shifting set-top to watch videos while logged into Facebook. In a demo video of its SlingPlayer for Facebook app posted by the company on YouTube, Sling shows how viewers can watch video in partial or full-screen mode, and tell Facebook friends about what they are watching. But Sling users can’t yet share any images or video clips from the shows they are watching with Facebook friends. Engadget has more. 

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been working on TVOT NYC Intensive 2011, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us a couple of days to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

In order to catch up with the huge volume of interactive TV-related news generated over the past two weeks at IBC, IFA, CEDIA, IDF and beyond, we have prepared a series of headline round-ups with hyperlinks to press releases and other news sources.

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been working on TVOT NYC Intensive 2011, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several days to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering stories in this issue in round-up/summary format. We anticipate that it will take us several days to catch up with all the recent news: so if your company has sent us a press release or briefed us on an announcement, and you don't yet see your news covered in this issue, please bear with us.

Because the [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, we are covering stories in this edition of the newsletter in round-up format:

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

Because the [itvt] editorial team has been on the road the past few weeks, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. Due to the volume of news we are covering in this issue, our summaries are somewhat more abbreviated than usual (note: extensive background information on most of the companies and technologies covered in this issue can be found by using itvt.com's search functionality). We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers: our regular daily news coverage will return shortly.

Because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on TVOT NYC Intensive (November 18th in New York City), our new show on the national interactive TV platform and the emerging ITV economy, we are covering recent news in round-up/summary form. We apologize for any inconvenience to our readers.

UK terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 4, says that the two-screen interactive TV service it offered around the new Endemol-produced game show, "The Million Pound Drop" (see the article published on itvt.com, May 23rd), proved highly popular with viewers. According to the broadcaster, the service--which consisted of a Flash-based play-along game that was developed by marketing agency, Pancentric Digital, and social TV company, Monterosa--was played 505,000 times by 76,000 unique players during the show's Tuesday, May 25th broadcast. The Davina McCall-hosted show itself also proved popular, Channel 4 says, doubling average viewing figures for its slot. The show aired live in the 10:00PM slot for six days last week.

The BBC on Wednesday unveiled a new beta version of its broadband VOD/OTT service, the BBC iPlayer, that features 1) what the corporation calls a "simplified and intuitive" user experience that is intended to make it easier to find content on the service; 2) personalization options that the corporation says will allow users to "create their own iPlayer experience"; and 3) social media integration. A new mobile version of the iPlayer is expected to launch in a couple of weeks.

UK terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 4, has teamed with "Big Brother" creator, Endemol, to offer broadcast-synchronized two-screen interactive TV functionality around the new live game show, "The Million Pound Drop" (airs at 10:00PM for six nights this week, starting May 24th), UK trade publication, New Media Age, reports.

Project Canvas--an initiative that sees 1) UK public service broadcasters, the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Five, 2) UK ISP's, BT and Talk Talk, and 3), as of last week, UK broadcast transmission company, Arqiva (see the article published on itvt.com, March 23rd), partnering in order to attempt to develop a common standard and interface for the delivery of online catch-up services such as the BBC iPlayer, the ITV player and 4oD, as well as other Internet-based services (including VOD and interactive TV widgets), to broadband-connected Freeview and Freesat set-top boxes (note: the partners in Project Canvas would run the platform,

Because the [itvt] editorial team is busy working on The TV of Tomorrow Show (March 3rd-4th in San Francisco) and on our new EBIF Intensive event (March 5th in San Francisco), we are covering a number of stories in this issue in summary form: