widgets

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) said Monday that Daktel Communications, a subsidiary of Dakota Central Telecommunications Cooperative, a telco that serves central North Dakota, has deployed its IPTV platform, enabling it to offer a range of advanced services, including DVR, VOD and interactive TV. According to the company, Daktel is one of the first operators in the US to deploy the platform. "Today's subscribers require higher-quality television experiences and content that is for their individual interests," Daktel CEO, Keith Larson, said in a prepared statement.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week, so we are covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers.

The [itvt] editorial team will be on the road this week and next, so we will be covering most stories in round-up/summary form, and we anticipate that there will be some additional interruptions of our regular news publishing schedule beyond that. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience to our readers. Here is a round-up of interactive TV-related news pertaining primarily to the pay-TV (cable, satellite, telco) space:

Here is a round-up of some other recent interactive TV-related stories that we didn't have room for in this issue:

[itvt] has just published the latest edition of Rick Howe's regular column, "The iTV Doctor Is In!" This week, Tyler Slocum, senior director of advanced services at DirecTV, discusses the satellite TV operator's app store and its line-up of widgets.

Verizon has launched a Spend Smart interactive TV coupon widget in its FiOS TV Widget Bazaar Applications Marketplace as part of a cross-platform initiative with electronic and mobile couponing specialist, Cellfire, that also sees it offering free Spend Smart coupons on its Wireless and Internet services. According to the company, Cellfire's Spend Smart coupons cover a wide range of products and can be redeemed at over 4,000 locations of more than 20 national grocery chains, including ShopRite, Safeway and Kroger. Coupon brands and products rotate every two weeks, the company says, with more than $25 in monthly grocery discounts available at any given time.

Widget Realm, a company that offers content publishing services for desktop apps, mobile devices and connected TV sets, on Tuesday launched its "Broadcast-It-Yourself" service for Internet-connected devices running the Yahoo! Widget Engine. According to the company, the new service will enable any developer to easily create and distribute TV widgets to millions of connected TV's and other connected devices. "Yahoo! and Widget Realm are going to enable an explosion of interactive television content," Widget Realm CEO, Brian Powell, said in a prepared statement. "We're excited to be working with the Yahoo!

Deutsche Telekom announced last week that it has added more interactive TV features to Liga Total!, a subscription-based package of coverage of German soccer's Bundesliga that it offers on its Microsoft Mediaroom-powered IPTV platform, Entertain.

In an interview posted on a Verizon blog, Wednesday, Verizon FiOS TV executive, Maitreyi Krishnaswamy, provided some insight into the service's interactive TV widget plans for 2010.

According to Krishnaswamy, the service will roll out more widgets for multicultural audiences, more sports widgets, a wider choice of widgetized games titles, and various program-specific widgets, including widgets for reality TV shows and other series.

Online TV search engine developer, SetJam, announced Tuesday that it is working with major media companies (which it did not identify) to build a suite of specialized "TV Everywhere" widgets that it says will transform static entertainment sites into "on-demand interactive TV watching destinations." "TV and movie content owners are bringing their vast libraries online," SetJam CEO, Ryan Janssen (who was formerly COO of online financial tool builder, Angelsoft.net), said in a prepared statement. "Our 'TV Everywhere' widgets provide the glue between their offerings and the entertainment sites that people already use to help create the most powerful TV broadcaster in the world--the Internet."

A number of companies last week announced plans to offer interactive TV applications on supported Samsung HDTV's, Blu-ray players and Home Theater Systems through Samsung's recently updated Internet@TV over-the-top (OTT) platform, and its newly announced Samsung Apps app store service (note: for more on the latter, see the article published on itvt.com, January 7th). They include:

Yahoo! last week announced 1) new distribution partnerships for its Yahoo! Widget Engine platform; 2) the release of a Widget Development Kit (WDK); and 3) new content partnerships for the widget platform. "Consumers are in love with their televisions, watching more TV, and demanding Internet connectivity to further enhance their viewing experience," Arlo Rose, senior director of Yahoo! Connected TV, said in a prepared statement. "Yahoo!