Radio Interview: Kristen Fergason, VP of Marketing, Maven Networks

Maven Networks--which offers a software platform that 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)--recently launched an advertising platform, dubbed simply the Maven Internet TV Advertising Platform. The company touts the new platform 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. The formats provide in-video interactivity via the use of transparent overlays and telescoping. In this recorded interview from [itvt]'s new talk radio show, "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow," Kristen Fergason, Maven's VP of marketing, 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.

To listen to the interview, please click here.

Next Live Broadcast of "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow"

Date: Thursday, January 22nd, 2008
Time: 9:00AM Pacific/12:00PM Eastern
Length: approximately one hour
Show's Homepage: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/itvt-tvoftomorrow
Call-in Number: 1-646-595-4343

This broadcast will feature a live interview with Steve Shannon, EVP and general manager of product management at EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide. Shannon--who earlier in his career was a co- founder of pioneering DVR company, ReplayTV--will discuss, among other things, Gemstar-TV Guide's EPG products and product plans; My TV Guide, the company's new suite of cross-platform (TV, Internet and mobile) guidance solutions; the future of EPG advertising; and more. (Note: this interview was originally scheduled to air on January 15th, but was postponed due to technical problems beyond [itvt]'s control.)

How to Listen and Participate

To listen to the show live, simply go to its homepage. [itvt] readers can participate in the show in a number of ways:

• By calling the show live at 1-646-595-4343.
• By submitting questions and comments via a chat application that appears on the "TV of Tomorrow Show" homepage during live broadcasts.
• By appearing on the show as a guest or co-host (if you or your company are interested in being featured on the show, please email your pitch to Tracy Swedlow at swedlow@itvt.com).
• By sponsoring the show (if your company is interested in sponsoring the show, please email Richard Washbourne at rwashbourne@itvt.com).

Archived Broadcasts

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

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.

Nominations Now Open for [itvt]'s 5th Annual Awards for Leadership in Interactive and Multiplatform Television

--Deadline for Submitting Nominations is February 17th
--Awards will be Presented at [itvt]'s TV of Tomorrow Show
--Online Nomination Form Available Here

[itvt] will present our 5th Annual Awards for Leadership in Interactive and Multiplatform Television at an awards ceremony at the TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco (March 11th and 12th).

The Awards, which debuted in 2004 at the NCTA National Show (see below) in New Orleans, honor industry-shaping companies, organizations and individuals. They recognize excellence in eight categories:

• "Most Significant Impact": the company or organization that has had the most significant impact on the industry as a whole over the past year (i.e. March 1st, 2007 through February 17th, 2008).
• "Most Significant Newcomer": the company or organization that was the most significant newcomer/breakthrough player of the past year.
• "Most Significant Technology, Platform or Product": the company or organization that invented the most innovative and disruptive technology, platform or product of the past year.
• "Most Significant Content Offering": the company or organization that created the most innovative and disruptive content offering of the past year.
• "Most Innovative Design or User Interface": the company or organization that created the most innovative and disruptive design/user interface/content-navigation schema of the past year.
• "Individual Leadership I": an individual who demonstrated notable leadership in the interactive, multiplatform TV industry over the past year, and whose efforts helped move that industry forward.
• "Individual Leadership II": an individual who demonstrated notable leadership in the interactive, multiplatform TV industry over the past year, and whose efforts helped move that industry forward.
• "ITV All-Star": an individual who has a long-term track record of leadership in the interactive multiplatform television industry, and who is an appropriate candidate for membership in an ITV Hall of Fame.

The winners of the awards will be selected via a two-stage process: [itvt] readers will submit nominations through February 17th (note: readers are more than welcome to nominate their own companies or organizations, their colleagues, or even themselves); then a panel of industry experts will vote to determine the winner of each award category.

To nominate companies or organizations for an Award for Leadership in Interactive and Multiplatform Television, please click here to use our online nomination form.

If you wish, you may send supporting materials:

1. as .pdf attachments in an email to swedlow@itvt.com
2. as hyperlinks in an email to swedlow@itvt.com
3. on DVD via snail mail to the following address:

InteractiveTV Today [itvt]
2959 Mission Street, Suite A
San Francisco, CA 94110

Once again, the deadline for submitting nominations is February 17th.

Thank you for your participation.

The [itvt] Staff.

Previous winners of the Leadership Awards and their companies at the time:

2004:

Dale Herigstad, Schematic
Rick Mandler, ABC
Tim Hanlon, Denuo Group
Vincent Dureau, OpenTV
Patrick Donoghue, Cablevision
Rupert Murdoch, News Corp.
Dr. H. Allen Ecker, Scientific-Atlanta

2005:

Jonathan Boltax, Cablevision
Kevin Cohen, Turner
Don Dulchinos, CableLabs
Scott Higgins, EchoStar
Scott Newnam, GoldPocket Interactive
John P. Roberts, GSN
Ian Shepherd, Sky Interactive

2006:

John Callahan, Time Warner Cable
Channing Dawson, Scripps Networks
Joan Gillman, Time Warner Cable
Brian Seth Hurst, The Opportunity Management Company
Gary Lauder, Lauder Partners
Karen Lennon, BeyondZ
David Preisman, Showtime Networks
Frank Sandoval, CableLabs
Timothy Wahlers, Vidiom Systems

2007:

Most Significant Impact (Tie): NBC/Ensequence
Most Significant Content: Time Warner Cable
Most Significant Newcomer: Brightcove
Most Innovative Technology: Tandberg
Most Innovative Business Model: The Media Group
Most Public Spirited: American Film Institute

No Individual Leadership Awards that year




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.

MISSION

1. to report the latest business developments and technologies
2. to feature the companies and people building the marketplace
3. to investigate new content and tcommerce projects
4. to provide contextual and critical analysis on all of the above

[itvt] RESOURCES

Main Site: http://www.itvt.com
Blog Site: http://blog.itvt.com
The TV of Tomorrow Show: http://www.thetvoftomorrowshow.com
RSS: http://www.itvt.com/rss-InteractiveTV-Today.xml

EDITORIAL CONTACT

If you would like to submit something for review or want to send a press release, please contact us. We prefer FedX packages, UPS, or email releases. Phone is okay to follow up.

Tracy Swedlow
Publisher, Editor-in-Chief
415-824-5806
swedlow@itvt.com

ADVERTISING CONTACT

[itvt] has a highly targeted and growing subscriber base that wants to know about your services. Click Advertising for more information. For options and prices, contact:

Richard Washbourne
Managing Editor & VP Sales
415-824-5806
rwashbourne@itvt.com

CONTRIBUTORS

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PRIVACY POLICY

[itvt] does not sell or trade subscribers' names or personal information to any interested parties.

DISCLAIMER

InteractiveTV Today [itvt] and its agents used their best efforts in collecting and preparing the information published herein. However, InteractiveTV Today [itvt] does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any and all liability for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions resulted from negligence, accident, or other causes.

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