--Will Form Basis of New OCAP Company, enableTV
--Wahlers Explains Goals of New Company to [itvt]
[itvt] has learned that Geneva-based ADB Group, which acquired US
tru2way/OCAP specialist, Vidiom Systems, back in February, 2006,
has sold parts of that company's professional services business back to
UK-based interactive media company, Two Way Media (note: the
company, which was originally called Two Way TV, recently
rebranded, in order, it said, to "reflect its status as a company focused
on creating and distributing cross-media TV shows and games"), has
formed a partnership with Latin American mobile content and SMS
specialist, NetPeople, to distribute its participation-TV game shows
across that region. The first deal to result from the companies' new
partnership is with Panamanian channel, Tele7, which is owned by
MedCom: since last month, the channel has been airing localized
versions of Two Way Media game shows, including "Hangit?" and
A UK-based company called Vizimo has launched a service that it says
enables consumers to discover broadcast and on-demand programming
that is relevant to their individual tastes, manage their programming
choices, and discuss programming with other users. The service is
available in the UK on around 200 mobile phone models, the company
says, and will be extended to other countries and handsets later this
year. According to Vizimo, its service uses automated content analysis,
profiling and social networking to guide users to relevant TV
programming, and also provides tools for scheduling recordings and
reminders, and for chatting about content. It says the tools work in a
Digital Rights Group-subsidiary, i-Rights--a company which
specializes in the financing, development and distribution of
cross-media programming and which is headed up by Justin Judd, the
former controller of interactive media at Granada--has signed a
two-year deal with Canadian production company, The Nightingale
Company, that will see i-Rights distributing worldwide a new, 48-part
online series and Alternate Reality Game aimed at teens. Entitled "Do
You Believe Me?," the new show is billed as "tak[ing] its users into the
real world along with series characters." It tells the story of a
17-year-old girl called Maya who, through recurring nightmares,
Australian pay-TV provider, Foxtel (note: the company offers an array
of interactive TV services, powered by OpenTV middleware),
contacted [itvt] earlier this month to let us know that it has launched a
new ITV game on its Gamesworld service. Entitled MAX Music Trivia
and developed by Two Way TV Australia (note: the latter holds the
rights to various ITV games and games technologies developed by
UK-based Two Way Media), the new game can be accessed directly
via the Gamesworld portal or by pressing the red button while watching
the MAX music channel. "By introducing MAX Music Trivia, Foxtel is
providing a fantastic new interactive quiz for music buffs," stated
Foxtel's executive director of sales and product development, Patrick
Dublin, Ireland-based interactive TV authoring solutions provider,
emuse, has been tapped by T-Home, the Microsoft
Mediaroom-powered IPTV service of German incumbent telco,
Deutsche Telekom, to develop an ITV application to complement
T-Home's coverage of German soccer's Bundesliga (note: Deutsche
Telekom, which signed a development agreement with emuse late last
year, holds the IPTV rights for Bundesliga soccer for T-Home).
According to the companies, the "Bundesliga Interaktive" application
features coverage of up to nine concurrent live soccer matches every
game weekend; lets viewers watch a variety of those games
simultaneously; and also lets viewers access catch-up footage of select
--Teams with Yahoo! on Fantasy Football Interactive TV Application
--Launches HD VOD across its Footprint
--Launches Whole-Home PVR Service
AT&T has teamed with Yahoo! to launch a fantasy sports application
on its Microsoft Mediaroom-powered IPTV platform, U-verse TV.
Dubbed Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football and accessed through AT&T's
U-bar interactive interface (which also allows viewers to receive
customized sports, weather, stock and traffic information free of charge
on their TV screen), the new application lets viewers track their fantasy
football team and receive customized information on their favorite NFL
teams. "The popularity of fantasy sports is on the rise, and our
customers will be able to stay up-to-date on their leagues and teams
--Partners with Paramount for Interactive TV Games
--Partnership with Ekioh Enables Support for SVG Technology
--Launches "Web 2.0" Applications at IBC
--Launches ITV Games on Sharp AQUOS Net TV Sets
Accedo Broadband, an aggregator and distributor of interactive TV
applications and content for IPTV and broadband-connected consumer
electronics devices (note: the company, which was founded by telecom
and media entrepreneurs, Michael Lantz and Fredrik Andersson, offers
a range of applications, including game, quiz, puzzle, video-art,
karaoke, weather, communications and user-generated content apps; it
has deals in place to provide games packages to a line-up of customers
that includes BT, Inuk, and PCCW), has generated a fair amount of
--Jacked Appoints CTO, Director of Partner Management
Santa Monica, Calif.-based two-screen interactive TV specialist,
Jacked, Inc. (note: the company's flagship product, Jacked SportsTop,
is a browser-based virtual desktop that features a dashboard of widgets
and that is designed to provide synchronized two-screen ITV
experiences specifically for sports broadcasts), has formed a
partnership with Versus, a national cable sports network currently
available in around 73 million households, that will see the latter
integrating Jacked SportsTop with its live broadcasts (note: Jacked also
Turner Sports and the NBA have announced an interactive offering
called "Fan Night" that will give viewers the chance to vote for which
basketball games they want to see televised nationally on NBA TV
each Tuesday night. According to the companies, viewers will be able
to log onto NBA.com and cast their vote from a list of the available
match-ups taking place around the league; the match-up that receives
the most votes will then be televised on the channel the following
Tuesday night. The first Fan Night vote will begin on October 28th, to
determine which game will be televised on Tuesday, November 4th.
"We're proud to launch the new NBA season on NBA TV and
NBA.com with the introduction of Fan Night, a landmark
multiplatform experience that takes fan interactivity to an
--Taps NAVTEQ for FiOS TV Traffic Widget
Verizon's FiOS TV service has teamed with ESPN on an interactive TV
fantasy sports application that provides viewers with scores and
statistics for their fantasy teams, updated in real time. According to
Verizon's director of interactive TV, Rachelle Zoffer, the application
was developed internally, is rolling out on a market-by-market basis, is
currently in around half of Verizon's FiOS TV markets, and should be
available nationwide shortly. "It's been getting great usage--especially
on Sunday game days," Zoffer told [itvt]. Video of the application is
--Company Taps Perform to Bring On-Demand Video to its Sports Portal
UK cable operator, Virgin Media, says that its VOD platform has
enjoyed a "massive increase" in viewing over the course of the year,
growing from 34 million views in January to 45 million views in
August (i.e. 33%). The company claims that the service generated 314
million views over the eight-month period, and that 50% of its 3.5
million customers are now watching on-demand programming on a
regular basis. It says that the service's success has been driven by
multiple new on-demand programming partnerships and by the launch
of the BBC's popular iPlayer service. "We are clearly on the precipice
Cable industry-owned VOD content aggregator, iN DEMAND, says
that it has reached an agreement with shock jock, Howard Stern, to
continue carrying the latter's subscription VOD service, Howard TV On
Demand, through the end of 2010 (which is also the end-date of Stern's
current contract with Sirius Radio). The deal will also see Howard TV
On Demand expanding its original programming slate, with seven new
programs that are set to launch throughout the remainder of the year.
The new programs include a trivia game show, shows devoted to the
antics of Howard Stern's "Wack Pack" (a group of unusual characters
that make regular appearances on his radio show), behind-the-scenes
shows, and more. "Fans of Howard Stern and Howard TV can now
Charter Communications announced last month that it has partnered
with Disney-ABC Domestic Television to launch a new subscription
VOD service. Priced at $4.99 per month and dubbed Disney Family
Movies, the new service offers around a dozen Disney movies and
animated shorts; titles remain in rotation for about a month and new
titles are added weekly. According to Disney, the rotating titles are
designed to have broad appeal, targeting children, teens, adults and
families. Titles available on the service at launch include "Honey, I
Shrunk the Kids," "Air Buddies," "Tarzan & Jane" and "Geppetto."
"Charter is pleased to have developed this service with Disney-ABC
Domestic Television and to serve as their launch partner on this
UK incumbent telco, BT, has signed a deal with NBC Universal
International Television Distribution that will make a range of the
latter's feature films available on the new HD movie service of BT's
Microsoft Mediaroom-powered hybrid DTT/IPTV service, BT Vision.
Movies covered by the deal include new releases such as "The
Incredible Hulk," "Wanted" and "Charlie Wilson's War," and library
titles such as "ET," "Shaun of the Dead" and "Miami Vice." BT
Vision's HD service is delivered through the platform's existing V-box
and does not require an additional monthly subscription: new releases
are priced at £4.95 and library titles at £2.95, for a 48-hour rental
period.
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