[itvt] Radio: Review of the 2008 NCTA Cable Show

In this recorded episode of [itvt]'s talk radio show, "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow," a panel of interactive TV experts--Steve Borelli, VP of marketing and business development at Integra5; industry analyst, Leslie Ellis (author of the popular Multichannel News column, "Translation Please"); Will Kreth, director of product management for interactive TV at Time Warner Cable; Alex Libkind, founder and COO of Zodiac Interactive; Mike Malcy, VP of marketing and business development at Vidiom Systems; and Gary Sohmers, chairman and president of Interactive Meet and Greet Entertainment (IMAGE)--review the 2008 NCTA Cable Show which took place earlier this week in New

Topics discussed include the very well-attended tru2way Developers Conference that immediately preceded the show; what the cable operators were saying about their plans to support the ETV and tru2way standards; noteworthy interactive TV applications on the show floor; the emerging popularity of social-networking ITV applications; what should have been discussed and showcased at the show, but wasn't; and much, much more.

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Next Live Broadcast of [itvt]'s Talk Radio Show

The next live broadcast of "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow" is scheduled for Tuesday, May 27th at 9:00AM Pacific/12:00PM Eastern. Jim Louderback, CEO of Revision3, will discuss his company--which bills itself as "an actual TV network for the Web," and which produces its own original, broadcast-quality programming--and the current state and future of the broadband video space in general.

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Archived Broadcasts

[itvt] is making past broadcasts of the show available on the show's homepage.

Broadcast #27 : Richard Baker, EVP of sales and marketing at UK- based interactive TV software provider, ANT (note: Baker, who joined the company earlier this year, was previously general manager of technology products and services for the EMEA region at RealNetworks), discusses the company's new multiplatform application development strategy, its new Twitter ITV application, its new proof-of-concept EPG application which displays up to 45 channels on a single screen, the importance of developing hybrid solutions (e.g. DTT and IPTV), and much more.

Broadcast #26: Silicon Valley pundit and author, Andrew Keen ("The Cult of the Amateur"), discusses his skeptical take on user-generated content and other participatory media, why he is not a fan of the Creative Commons movement, his views on the economics of broadband video, and more.

Broadcast #25: A panel of interactive TV experts--Patrick Donoghue , VP of interactive TV product management at Time Warner Cable ; industry analyst, Leslie Ellis (author of the column, "Translation Please "); Bill Niemeyer , chief of analysis and research at BlackArrow ; David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks; and Lori Schwartz , SVP and director of the Interpublic Emerging Media Lab --and special guests, Steven Roberts , SVP of new media and business development at DirecTV, and Amy Jacobson Kurokawa , chair of the San Francisco Chapter of the Producers Guild of America (PGA), discuss their picks for the most important ITV stories of April and provide a snapshot of the current state of the industry. Topics discussed include NBC Universal's Digital Studio initiative and whether it can serve as a model for a new relationship between the advertising industry and the cable and satellite industries; the latest developments in tru2way/OCAP; and the upcoming NCTA Cable Show.

Broadcast #24: Mark Goldenson --founder and CEO of PlayCafe.com , a company which streams live, free-to-play game shows that allow viewers to play along, chat with hosts and other players, form teams, contribute questions, and win prizes (note: Ken Jennings, the holder of the record for the longest winning streak on the US game show, "Jeopardy!," recently appeared on PlayCafe.com as a special guest)--discusses the company's offering, its business model, the impact on the industry of the UK participation TV scandal, and new features the company plans to offer, including making it possible for end-users to produce their own shows.

Broadcast #23: Tim Wahlers, founder and CEO of Vidiom Systems, the company's VP marketing, Mike Malcy, its VP of engineering services, Walden Miller, and its VP of strategic initiatives, David Housman, discuss their work with the cable industry on tru2way/OCAP, describe some of the interactive TV projects they are currently engaged in, provide an overview of Vidiom's OCAP testing services, and offer a preview of the upcoming second annual tru2way Developers Conference. (Note: the conference--which is produced by the NCTA and CableLabs, and sponsored by Vidiom--will be held in New Orleans on Saturday, May 17th and Sunday, May 18th, just prior to the NCTA Cable Show. Areas of discussion will include programming, platforms, consumer electronics, application development, and retail opportunities, and the event will also feature hands-on workshops.)

Broadcast #22: James Joyce, EVP of business development at Netherlands-based international TV formats developer, 2waytraffic (note: the company is in the process of being acquired by Sony), discusses the company's participation TV formats, the challenges involved in bringing its participation TV offerings to the US market, the impact of the recent participation TV scandal in the UK, and more.

Broadcast #21: Marcelino Ford-Livene and David Jensen, co-governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Interactive Media Peer Group (IMPG), and Geoff Katz, chairman of the IMPG's Primetime Emmy Awards Working Group, discuss the Academy's newly issued call for entries for the 2007-2008 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media (note: the Awards will recognize excellence in two areas of competition this year: Fiction and Non-Fiction).

Broadcast #20: Magnus Eriksson, chief development manager, and Christian Bjorkman, director of special projects at Mindark, the company behind the virtual world, Entropia Universe, discuss the interactive enhancements the company created for the Swedish television drama, "The Truth about Marika." Viewers of the show--which was recently awarded the Emmy for Best Interactive TV Service by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences--could participate by searching for clues within Entropia Universe that allowed them to solve a show-related mystery. In addition, they could interact within the virtual world with avatars of the show's main characters. Eriksson and Bjorkman also provide an in-depth overview of Entropia Universe: among other things, the virtual world has a "real cash economy," whose currency is pegged to the US dollar (at a rate of 10-1), and which allows participants to earn money.

Broadcast #19: Cathy Hetzel, president of the Advanced Media Information division at business-intelligence company, Rentrak, and her colleague, Dustin Encelewski, the company's director of technological business development, discuss recent developments with its OnDemand Essentials offering--a Web-based ASP service which measures and reports anonymous, aggregate VOD usage data, such as viewership volumes and trends, and which is intended to provide cable operators, content providers and advertisers with customizable reports designed to help them better understand viewers' VOD content preferences. They also discuss Rentrak's relationship with the cable industry, cast light on the company's future plans for its Essentials product line, discuss its competitors, and provide some interesting statistics about VOD usage that the company has gleaned over the past few months.

Broadcast #18: Gary Sohmers, president and chairman of Interactive Meet and Greet Entertainment (IMAGE), discusses his company's flagship Video Queue technology, which allows TV viewers to have face-to-face encounters with celebrities. (Note: Sohmers will probably be familiar to [itvt] readers who are also PBS viewers: he is a regular guest on the popular program, "Antiques Roadshow," where he appraises toys, collectibles and memorabilia.)

Broadcast #17: AirPlay chairman and CEO, Morgan Guenther, talks about his company's new deal with Sony Pictures Television to provide multiplayer play-along mobile gaming for the popular game show, "Jeopardy!"; about some of the other new projects the company will be undertaking this year; about its business model and its plans to scale its business; about his experiences at TiVo (where he served as president from 2001-2003); and more.

Broadcast #16: Phil Bender, CableLabs' project director for OpenCable, and Roger Brinkley, community leader for the Mobile & Embedded Community at Sun Microsystems, provide an in-depth update on the latest developments in OpenCable/OCAP/tru2way; discuss the "OpenCable Project" that recently launched on Java.net; provide a preview of CableLabs' CableNET showcase at the upcoming NCTA Cable Show; and more.

Broadcast #15: Ashwin Navin, co-founder and president of peer-to-peer technology provider, BitTorrent, discusses that company's recently announced agreement with Comcast, which calls for them to work together to address infrastructural issues raised by the growing popularity of video and other rich media on the Internet. In addition, a panel of high-profile interactive TV experts--Paula Byrne, founder and managing director of Pushbutton; Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research at BlackArrow; and David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks--discuss their picks for the most important ITV stories of March. Topics discussed include Navic's announcement that its Admira media placement platform now supports interactivity; UK broadcaster Five's abandonment of red-button services; Showtime Networks' launch of a range of multiplatform interactive services to support its high-profile new series, "The Tudors"; the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' call for entries for its interactive Emmy awards; and much more.

Broadcast #14: Will Kreth, director of product management for interactive TV at Time Warner Cable , provides [itvt] readers/listeners with an exclusive on OEDN.net, a newly launched OCAP/EBIF developer network. He discusses, among other things, the group's resources and goals, its efforts to reach out to the Hollywood and academic communities, the current state of OCAP and EBIF development and deployment, the relationship between OCAP and Blu-ray, and much more. In addition, a panel of high-profile interactive TV experts--Patrick Donoghue, VP of ITV product management at Time Warner Cable; Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research at BlackArrow; and David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks -- discuss their picks for the most important ITV stories of February. Topics discussed include new VOD technologies from SeaChange International that allow advertising to be inserted into interior program breaks and streamed video games; the emerging market for VOD games services; ESPN360's launch of HD broadband video, powered by Move Networks' technology; Ensequence's new Blu-ray Disc partnership with Sony; and much more.

Broadcast #13: A panel of interactive TV experts--Patrick Donoghue, VP of ITV product management at Time Warner Cable; Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research at BlackArrow; and David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks--discuss their picks for the most important ITV stories of January. Topics discussed include CES; next-generation remote control and touchscreen technologies; the emergence of cable MSO's as broadband TV content aggregators; new technologies that bypass the traditional set-top box; CableLabs' rebranding of OCAP as "tru2way"; the future of EBIF; new data on ITV from Ensequence, Backchannelmedia and Gemstar-TV Guide; and the persistence of two-screen ITV.

Broadcast #12: Andrew Solmssen, EVP of multiplatform interactive design agency, Schematic, discusses the impact of the company's recent acquisition by advertising and marketing giant, WPP; its work on the ABC.com Full Episode Player, Starz' Vongo service, and other interactive and broadband TV projects; its work on video walls, touchscreens, "Wiimotes" (Wii remotes) and other new interactive platforms; using design to boost the efficacy of broadband video advertising and of content navigation systems; and much more.

Broadcast #11: Steve Shannon, EVP and general manager of product management at EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide, discusses, among other things, the company's EPG products and its product roadmap; new features that will be offered by its EPG's over the coming year; My TV Guide, its new suite of cross-platform (TV, Internet and mobile) guidance solutions; its work on social TV and programming recommendation solutions; its work--via GuideWorks, its joint-venture with Comcast--on a new, graphically rich OCAP-based EPG; the future of EPG advertising; and much more.

Broadcast #10: Kristen Fergason is VP of marketing at Maven Networks, a company that offers a software platform which allows content providers and brand marketers to create interactive broadband VOD channels (its customers include 20th Century Fox, Gemstar-TV Guide, Univision, Virgin Records, General Motors, PepsiCo, Gannett, Scripps Networks, and A&E Television Networks). The company recently launched an advertising platform which it bills as introducing a series of new, non-proprietary formats that are significantly more engaging than pre-roll ads (the currently dominant form of broadband video advertising), make for a better user experience, and deliver higher-value ad units for advertisers. In the interview, Fergason describes the new platform and the kinds of interactive advertising it enables; outlines Maven's product-development plans; and discusses the Internet TV Advertising Forum, an industry group that Maven and a number of other companies recently established in order to "solve the challenges and deficiencies associated with current online video advertising models" and to develop new standards and formats for interactive broadband video advertising.

Broadcast #9: Hans Fischmann is general manager of advanced media at Charter Media, the advertising arm of cable MSO, Charter Communications. Since he joined Charter Media in January, 2007, he and his team have launched over 600 interactive TV and VOD advertising campaigns. He describes the kinds of interactive TV advertising offered by Charter Media; provides statistics on the efficacy of the company's ITV ads; describes its efforts to market its ITV advertising capabilities; provides some thoughts on the cable industry ITV advertising initiative, "Project Canoe"; discusses "Did You See It?," a new channel Charter is launching that will be devoted to interactive TV advertising; and much more.

Broadcast #8: Peter Price, president and CEO of the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, one of two organizations that are responsible for television's annual Emmy awards (the other is the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences), discusses, among other things, the relationship between the two Academies, and their ongoing legal dispute over the National Academy's awards for Advanced Media (which were presented Monday at CES 2008).

Broadcast #7: Upstate New York resident, James Cawley, whose background includes, among other things, a stint as an Elvis-impersonator, is the executive producer of Star Trek New Voyages (startreknewvoyages.com), a production company that produces original episodes of "Star Trek," based on the characters from that show's first season (Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Scotty, Sulu, Uhura, etc.). Downloads of these hour-long, fan-generated broadband TV episodes have been in the multiple millions, and their audience base appears to be growing rapidly. Cawley shares his thoughts on producing original, fan-generated "Star Trek" programming for the Internet; describes the events that led to the formation of Star Trek New Voyages; discusses the company's relationship with CBS (the owner of the "Star Trek" franchise); provides a preview of new episodes and new characters that the company has in the pipeline (including "Star Trek's" first gay character); discusses the possibility of making the show interactive or building a social network around it; and much more.

Broadcast #6: Three high-profile figures from the interactive TV space--Patrick Donoghue, VP of ITV product management at Time Warner Cable; Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research at BlackArrow; and David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks--provide a retrospective of the year in interactive TV, present their picks for the year's most important ITV stories, and predict the important ITV trends for 2008. Topics discussed include the rise of user-generated content; the demise of TMG; the significance of the top-secret interactive TV advertising initiative, "Canoe"; the emergence of big-budget broadband TV programming; EchoStar's purchase of Sling Media; DirecTV's purchase of ReplayTV; and much more.

Broadcast #5: Three senior executives from mobile interactive TV specialist, SinglePoint--president and CEO, Rich Begert; VP of industry relations, Doug Busk; and director of marketing, Philippe Poutonnet--discuss, among other things, the company's recent deal with NBC Universal. The deal will see SinglePoint providing mobile interactive/participation TV services for a range of NBC Universal's programming and channels, including NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, Telemundo, USA Network, NBC Sports, and NBC News.

Broadcast #4: Steve Rosenbaum is founder and CEO of Magnify.net, a company that provides a new Web 2.0 service which allows end-users to create video galleries/channels complete with social networks. He discusses Magnify.net's service and the business model behind it; provides examples of how it is being used; outlines the company's current strategy and future plans; and more.

Broadcast #3: Brian Seth Hurst, a well-known figure in interactive TV circles, was recently elected as vice chairman of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the organization behind the Primetime Emmys. His election marks the first time ever that a new media specialist has served in such a senior role at the Academy. Hurst discusses what his election says about the evolution of the Academy and of the television establishment in general; the significance of the ongoing writers' strike for the interactive and broadband TV industries; and much more.

Broadcast #2: Jodie McAfee, who was formerly SVP of corporate development and marketing at The Media Group (TMG), a high-profile interactive TV advertising and programming company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year, discusses that company's demise; his new company, BoomerangiTV; the cable industry interactive TV advertising initiative known as "Project Canoe"; the current state of the ITV advertising industry in general; and more.

Broadcast #1: Louis Slothouber and Dan Levinson of BIAP discuss their company's technologies; the challenges involved in deploying the company's interactive TV applications (which include eBay on TV, Yellow Pages on TV, and Fantasy Football and Baseball Trackers); the company's patent portfolio; the current state of the cable industry; ITV standards; artificial intelligence; emerging market opportunities; and more.

up to headlines

ABOUT [itvt]

*Founded by Tracy Swedlow in November 1997
*Began Publishing June 1998
*Read in over 100 countries
*Demographics are provided upon request from qualified persons

[itvt] is an ITV/broadband advisory and media company which identifies new trends, business opportunities, and relationships within the interactive television broadband space. [itvt] offers professional services, products, and programs to clients. These include our free email newsletter, focused analysis and advice sessions, in-depth research reports, a B2B portal Web site, networking and workshop events, dynamic online discussion groups, and interactive database resources.

Today, more than ever before, [itvt] believes it is imperative to develop dynamic, flexible, and robust interactiveTV platforms that allow us to learn from and talk about our world and the cultures in it in a free, constructive, and proactive manner.

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