AFI Digital Content Lab Seeking Applications for Winter '05 Workshop

--Deadline is August 19th

The American Film Institute Digital Content Lab (DCL) is looking for companies and individuals interested in participating in its Winter '05 workshop. (Note: the DCL, which brings together owners of media properties and interactive technology and production experts in order to create interactive prototypes for television and other platforms, was formerly know as the Enhanced TV Workshop. The name change was made to reflect the fact that the interactive media projects fostered by the organization are being designed for an ever-broader range of digital platforms.) The deadline for applications is August 19th. The DCL is seeking three categories of applicant: Clients (television producers and other owners of media properties who are interested in developing an interactive prototype based on those properties), Mentors (companies and individuals with design, development and/or consulting expertise in digital technology who can help the clients transform their properties into interactive prototypes), and PBS producers (producers of programming for the US Public Broadcasting Service who are therefore eligible for an AFI-Corporation for Public Broadcasting Fellowship or Scholarship to support their work in the DCL). More information on the DCL is available by calling 323.856.7816 or by emailing digitalcontent@afi.com.

LAMP Seeks to Speed Growth of Multi-Platform Interactivity in Australia

The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) has launched an initiative called the Laboratory for Advanced Media Production (LAMP), and named Gary Hayes--who was previously a senior producer at BBC New Media, and who is also a veteran of the American Film Institute's Enhanced TV Workshop (now known as the Digital Content Lab)--as its founding director. According to AFTRS's head of digital media, Peter Giles, LAMP will comprise "a series of cutting-edge seminars, workshops and labs that will enable Australian content creators to create entertainment for the global stage." Much like the AFI Digital Content Lab's workshops, LAMP's workshops will be tasked with bringing together teams of producers, writers, directors and designers, in order to create prototype, cross-platform (TV, Web and mobile), interactive digital programs and applications. "LAMP will follow similar models in the UK and USA that have really stimulated the interactive industry, but it is important that we do not lose sight of the uniqueness of the Australian story," Hayes said in a prepared statement. "In Australia, only 24% of new TV programs are created locally, compared with 91% in the UK and 75% in Canada. LAMP will help redress that balance as the audience shifts over to online delivery of content."

LAMP plans to hold a series of orientation workshops later this month and early next month in Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. The workshops will provide attendees with case studies, a guide to the LAMP application process, and an overview of emerging digital media. The organization has secured funding from the South Australian Film Corporation. More information on LAMP and its workshops can be found on its Web site (www.lamp.edu.au) or by emailing lamp@aftrs.edu.au.

New IDS Survey Reports Enthusiasm for ITV Advertising

IDS, the advertising sales arm of programmer Flextech, has published the results of its second annual online survey of the UK advertising industry. The survey, which was undertaken by Media Intelligence, was designed to gather experiences and opinions of interactive TV advertising. Its results are compiled in a free report, entitled "Interactive TV--A Maturing Medium," which compares those results with the results of last year's survey, and which can be downloaded from IDS's Web site (www.idigitalsales.co.uk). According to IDS, the survey showed that more and more advertisers are using interactive TV, that the vast majority of respondents had a positive experience with the medium, and that more advertisers intend to run more interactive TV advertising campaigns in the future.

Among the survey's findings:

• 69% of respondents said they had run an interactive advertising campaign before, compared to 62% last year.
• Usage of Dedicated Advertiser Locations (DAL's) and Mini-DAL's increased considerably as respondents recognized the branding power of the medium.
• DAL's replaced impulse response ads as the format advertisers and agencies were most pleased with.
• 57% of respondents who used interactive advertising before rated their experience as "good" or "very good," which represents a 58% increase from last year.
• 3/4 of respondents said they would definitely use the medium again, compared to 61% last year.
• 70% of respondents said they would like to see more education and information on ROI, while 62% said they would like to see more case studies. 71% of respondents said that providing this information was the responsibility of the sales houses.
• A plurality of respondents (36%) said that the main advantages of interactive advertising are the brand experience and viewer engagement. 22% of respondents said that the main disadvantage of the medium is its cost.

According to IDS, the survey also showed that the advertising industry is viewing creativity in interactive advertising as increasingly important, and that there is a demand for creative agencies in particular to become more involved in the medium.

CBBC Hires Nickelodeon UK Interactive Director as Head of Entertainment

--Will be Charged with Developing a Multi-Platform Strategy

CBBC, a BBC diginet and programming service targeted at tween- and teenagers, has appointed Joe Godwin as head of CBBC Entertainment. Godwin joins CBBC from Nickelodeon UK, where he served most recently as VP of operations and interactive director, overseeing a revamp of the channel's interactive TV services and Web sites. Prior to that, he served as the channel's head of original production and as editor, live on-air. Before joining Nickelodeon in 2000, he worked in a variety of roles at the BBC, including producer of the children's magazine show, "Blue Peter," and editor of CBBC Presentation. Godwin's brief at CBBC will include developing a multimedia entertainment department that will deliver content across a range of platforms.

CBBC recently launched a 24/7 ITV service, called CBBC eXtra, that invites children to submit questions about CBBC and its shows and presenters in an area called "On The Spot"; seek advice from an "agony uncle" in an area called "Ask Aaron"; submit jokes and messages (which then appear in an area called "More Fun"); and enter a weekly competition. The service also provides top-40 charts, music and movie reviews, horoscopes, and recipes and other information designed to supplement CBBC shows.

Widevine Appoints Jim Veres as VP of Advanced Engineering

--Will be Tasked with Embedding its Technologies in Mobile-Device Chipsets

Content security specialist, Widevine Technologies, has appointed Jim Veres as VP of advanced engineering. Veres joins the company from Microsoft, where he was a DirectX group manager in the Windows Operating System division, and where, according to Widevine, he managed teams that produced API's to enable highly interactive, multi- user content. A Widevine spokesperson told [itvt] that the company is hoping that Veres' extensive knowledge of chipset manufacturers "will play a critical role in helping Widevine to secure a content security leadership position beyond set-tops and PVR's." Consequently, Veres will be in charge of embedding the company's Cypher Virtual SmartCard into video-processor, consumer-electronics and mobile- device chipsets. The goal is to ensure that a large pool of portable media players and other mobile devices are secured by Widevine's technology, which in turn, the company says, "will enable Widevine- secured operators to maintain and attract new valued subscribers through high-quality premium content services that are normally prohibited from distribution to portable media players." Prior to his stint at Microsoft, Veres was VP of engineering at Alliant Computer, where he directed the development of that company's parallel- processing minisupercomputers. He began his career at Data General, where he helped design that company's first 32-bit minicomputer, the MV/8000. He holds nine patents, as well as a bachelor's degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Continued below...

enteraction tv Appoints Ex-Telewest CEO as Chairman of its Board

UK-based digital TV production company, enteraction tv, has appointed ex-Telewest CEO, Stephen Davidson, as chairman of its board. In addition to his cable-industry experience (he left Telewest in 1999, after a five-year stint), Davidson has a considerable amount of experience in banking--which will presumably be very useful to enteraction tv should it decide to go public or need to raise funds for expansion: among other things, he served as vice chairman of investment banking and global head of media and telecommunications, investment banking at Pan European Bank; he also spent stints at BearStearns, Bankers Trust, Chemical Bank and NM Rothschild. In addition, he is chairman of SPG Media Group and is a non-executive director at Inmarsat and Williams Lea Group.

enteraction tv is best known for its work developing television programming and channels for established brands, including the Thomas Cook TV channel which it operates for the travel company of the same name, and London TV which it operates for the London tourism agency, Visit London. It has also announced plans to launch an interactive home shopping channel, Home2, on Sky in the fall. Earlier this year, it acquired participation TV specialist, Red Fig, in a deal worth around £3 million. The latter offers red-button application development services and technologies for integrating multiple types of interactivity in a single show, but is perhaps best known for technologies that allow viewers to interact with programming by using land-line and mobile phones. It recently launched a service that will allow advertisers to use mobile phones as a backchannel through which viewers can interact with their TV commercials. The service is centered on the creation and delivery of WAP or Java branded content microportals, dubbed "MiAds" (see [itvt] Issue 6.11 Part 2).

Concurrent Expands VOD Sales Team, Names New Marketing Director

VOD equipment provider, Concurrent Computer, has expanded its VOD sales team with two new appointments, and named a new director of marketing. The company says that the appointments are designed to increase its US sales coverage and customer support presence. The two new members of the Concurrent sales team are Bob Tucci and Frank Winship. Tucci, who will be based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., will be responsible for Concurrent's west coast sales and customer support. He joins the company from MuRata Electronics, where he was a regional sales manager; prior to that, he was a sales director at ADC, focusing on cable and telecommunications products. A 17-year sales veteran, he holds a BS in electrical engineering from Boston University. Winship, who will be located in Shrewsbury, Mass., will be responsible for all Comcast division sales and sales support. A 30-year cable veteran, he most recently served as director of sales/IP specialist at Motorola. He attended Adams State College in Colorado, and is an active member of the SCTE. Concurrent's new director of marketing is Tim Dodge, who was previously a senior product manager at C-COR; prior to that, he was director of technical marketing at Optinel Systems (which was subsequently acquired by C-COR). He holds an MBA from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor degree from the University of North Carolina. He is also an active member of the SCTE and of CTAM.

BSkyB Releases Financial Results and Subscriber Acquisition Totals

UK satellite TV provider, BSkyB, has released financial results and subscriber figures for the quarter ended June 30th and for the year as a whole:

• The company added 83,000 net new DTH subscribers during the quarter, compared to 81,000 for the year-ago quarter. Gross new subscriber additions totaled 303,000. The company's subscriber base now totals 7,787,000, and it says that it is on track to meet its target of 8 million subscribers by the end of the year.
• 118,000 net new households opted for the company's Sky+ PVR service during the quarter, compared to 75,000 during the year-ago quarter. At the end of the quarter, 888,000 households had Sky+ service, representing 11% penetration of the company's overall subscriber base. 14% of new Sky customers for the quarter opted to take Sky+ service.
• 82,000 net new households opted for the company's multiroom service during the quarter, compared to 23,000 during the year-ago quarter. At the end of the quarter, 645,000 households had multiroom service, representing 8% penetration of the company's overall subscriber base.
• Annualized average revenue per user (ARPU) for the quarter was £384, up £2 from the previous quarter. The company attributed the increase to the increase in multiroom subscriptions, an increase in the number of pay-per-view events on offer, and higher net revenues from SkyBet.
• Overall revenues for the year totaled £4,048 million, up 11% from the previous year; DTH revenues totaled £2,968 million, up 12% from the previous year.
• Operating profit for the year was £805 million, up 34% from the previous year; operating profit margin before goodwill and exceptional items was 20%, compared to 16% for the previous year.
• Profit after tax for the year was £425 million, generating earnings per share before goodwill and exceptional items of 29 pence, an increase of 58% from the previous year.
• SkyBet revenues for the year totaled £261 million, up 37% from the previous year. The service's gross margin increased from 8% to 10%, driven, the company said, by the introduction of fixed-odds games, such as roulette and multi-line slot games. In its earnings press release, Sky pointed out that the implementation of the 2005 Gambling Act will "present an opportunity to offer 'gaming' services combining TV and interactivity. 'Gaming,'" the company said, includes games of chance and skill and therefore the Act will permit the launch of true casino games such as poker, in addition to the fixed odds games already available on SkyBet."
• Sky Active revenues totaled £92 million, down £24 million from the previous period. The company blamed the decline on the closing of its SkyBuy retail service and on "the expiry of a number of historical interactive contracts and services." However, it said that underlying revenues (i.e. excluding these items) rose by 10% to £87 million, reflecting growth in areas such as interactive advertising, games and third-party betting and gaming.

Gemstar Reports Lower Revenues, Lower-than-Expected Losses

--Revenues and EBITDA for Cable & Satellite, CE Segments Increase

EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide, has released its second quarter financial results:

• Overall revenues totaled $177 million, compared to $178.5 million for the year-ago quarter.
• Overall net losses totaled $5.1 million, or $0.01 per share, compared to net income of $42 million, or $0.10 per share, for the year-ago quarter (note: the Q2, 2004 income total was positively impacted by a $10.1 million settlement of a long-term lease obligation related to the company's former eBook operations). The consensus of Wall Street analysts had been that the company would post a loss of $0.05 per share.
• Revenues for the company's Cable and Satellite Segment totaled $69.5 million, compared to $63 million for the year-ago quarter. The company attributed the increase to a $1.9 million increase in revenues at TV Guide Interactive and to a $4 million increase in revenues from its horseracing channel, TVG Network, that was primarily due to wagering and licensing.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the Cable and Satellite Segment was $32.5 million, compared to $32.2 million for the year-ago quarter. The increase was primarily due to the segment's increased revenues, offset by 1) a $2.6 million increase in operating expenses at TVG, due to increased wagering volumes and increased content and programming expenses, 2) a $1.1 million increase in programming and marketing expenses at TV Guide Channel, and 3) a $1.2 million increase in expenses associated with the launch of the company's new VOD service, TV Guide Spot.
• Revenues for the company's Consumer Electronics Licensing Segment totaled $22.8 million, compared to $20.4 million for the year- ago quarter. The increase was due primarily to a $2.9 million increase in revenues from the company's consumer electronics EPG business, offset by a $1.5 million decline in revenues from its VCR Plus+ business.
• Adjusted EBITDA for the Consumer Electronics Licensing Segment was $10 million, compared to $4 million for the year-ago quarter. The increase was related primarily to a $5.9 million decrease in legal expenses, as a result of the recent settlement of a patent dispute with Scientific-Atlanta.
• At the end of the quarter, the company's cash, cash-equivalents and current marketable securities totaled $518.1 million, including restricted cash of $39.2 million. Outstanding debt and capital lease obligations totaled $13.5 million.

Video Networks Raises Another £45 Million from Chris Larson

Video Networks--the company which operates the ADSL-based IPTV service, HomeChoice, in London and Stevenage, and which, until recently was one of only two companies in the UK to offer VOD (the other was Kingston Interactive Television)--has confirmed to [itvt] that it has raised £45 million from its majority shareholder, Digital Explosion, the investment vehicle of Microsoft co-founder, Chris Larson (note: Larson previously invested £60 million in the company). According to a company spokesperson, the funding was used to help accelerate the completion of phase two of HomeChoice's London roll-out. The service, which now passes 2.4 million homes in London and Stevenage, had 15,000 subscribers at last count. Last year, Video Networks revealed that it was planning to raise funding via a share offering. A Video Networks spokesperson told us that the company "tested the financing market at the end of 2004, but our controlling shareholder ultimately decided to continue to fund the business himself."

VOD, DVR's Drive Comcast Digital Subscriber Growth

--Nearly 300,000 DVR and/or HD Set-Tops Deployed in 2nd Quarter

Comcast, the largest cable MSO in the US, has released second quarter financial results and subscriber numbers for its Comcast Cable unit:

• Revenues totaled $5.3 billion, representing a 10.1% increase from the year-ago quarter.
• Operating income totaled $2.2 billion, representing a 13.2% increase from the year-ago quarter. Operating cash flow margin was 40.8%, compared to 39.7% for the year-ago quarter.
• 507,000 revenue-generating units were added during the quarter, compared to 415,000 during the year-ago quarter.
• Video revenues totaled $3.4 billion, representing a 5.9% increase from the year-ago quarter. The company said the increase was driven by higher monthly revenue per basic subscriber and by a 13.3% increase in the number of digital customers. It added 284,000 new digital customers during the quarter (the consensus of Wall Street analysts had been that it would add 178,000), and at the end of the quarter had 9.1 million digital subscribers, representing digital penetration of 42.6%. The company said that the growth in digital subscribers and video revenue reflected "strong consumer demand for new digital features and services including Comcast On Demand, high- definition television (HDTV) programming and digital video recorders (DVR's)." Pay-per-view revenues were up 24% for the quarter, driven, the company said, by "more movie and event purchases through the Comcast On Demand service."
• During the quarter, Comcast Cable deployed nearly 300,000 advanced set-top boxes with DVR and/or HDTV programming capability, generating an incremental $5 to $10 of monthly revenue per box.
• In June, Comcast Cable subscribers viewed over 112 million VOD programs, representing a 10 million increase in three months.
• Cable capital expenditures totaled $936 million, compared to $893 million for the year-ago quarter. The company said that the increase "reflects the purchase of digital set-top boxes to meet expected demand, as well as certain capital investments, including equipment for digital simulcasting and our integrated service platform, which are expected to decline in the second half of 2005."

up to headlines

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