vod

The [itvt] editorial team is on the road this week and next, 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 and next, 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 and next, 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.

[itvt] has just published the first in a new series of columns, collectively entitled PERSPECTIVE, from the iTV Doctor, Rick Howe. The series will discuss Full Service Network (FSN), QUBE, Video Jukebox, Sega Channel and other ground-breaking interactive TV efforts, and the impact those deployments still have on interactive television today.

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we are following:

On Demand Group (ODG), the London-based VOD content-aggregation-and-management subsidiary of SeaChange International, said Monday that it has teamed with United Arab Emirates integrated telecom service provider, du, to launch a fully managed subscription VOD service. The new SVOD offering, dubbed "Unlimited Video on Demand," joins a transactional VOD service that du launched last December.

Insight Communications, a cable operator that serves markets in Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio (note: it has approximately 750,000 customers and is the ninth-largest cable operator in the US), last week announced the launch of new "QuickView" multiscreen mosaic channels that are available at no extra charge to customers equipped with HD DVR's. The mosaic channels each present viewers with miniscreens of a set of channels in a specific genre: channel 100 showcases basic entertainment channels, channel 300 children's channels, channel 400 news channels, channel 500 sports channels, and channel 800 music channels.

Here are some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

DVD rental/OTT video company, Netflix, and Relativity Media, the financing and production company behind such current-release movies as "Get Him to the Greek" and "Grown Ups," said Tuesday that they have signed a long-term agreement, under which major theatrically released films owned by Relativity will be licensed exclusively to Netflix for streaming to its subscribers on its "Watch Instantly" service during the pay-TV window (note: Netflix subscriptions that include the "Watch Instantly" service are priced from $8.99 per month). Until now, such films have been distributed via Relativity's studio releasing partners to premium TV channels such as HBO, Showtime and Starz.

Struggling video rental chain, Blockbuster, said Tuesday that the latest Philips Blu-ray players, the 5320 and 7320 (note: the devices are built by Funai Electric-subsidiary, P&F, which is the exclusive licensee for Philips consumer television sets and home theater systems in North America), feature its transactional VOD service, Blockbuster On Demand. "Blockbuster On Demand gives customers instant access to the very latest new releases on the same day as DVD and Blu-ray," Bruce Anderson, Blockbuster On Demand's SVP and general manager, said in a prepared statement. "These new Philips Blu-ray players are a great way for you to enjoy the latest hit movies or cinema classics and we are excited to enhance that experience." 

Charter Communications announced last week that it has launched PBS Kids Sprout--a multiplatform programming service which is a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, HIT Entertainment and Sesame Workshop and which targets children aged 2-5--on its VOD platform. The MSO also says it plans to make the service's 24-hour linear channel available on a market-by-market basis by the end of the year.

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

Cable industry-owned VOD content aggregator, iN Demand, contacted [itvt] Wednesday to share with us the list of first-run movies that it is premiering on cable VOD platforms this month. According to the company, most of the titles will be available day-and-date with their DVD release, one title will be available in advance of its DVD release, and around half of the titles will be on cable VOD platforms weeks before they are available through Netflix and Redbox. All the titles will be offered in both standard- and high-definition, iN Demand says.

The new-release movies that iN Demand will be premiering on VOD this month, according to the company, are:

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

Comcast on Tuesday unveiled the line-up of children's programming that it will be offering this summer on its VOD platform and online. According to the company--which claims that its customers watch over 25 million hours of children's VOD programming each month (note: the company says that around 1,500 children's programs are available on Comcast On Demand)--the line-up includes TV series, new-release and classic movies, and programming devoted to family games, fitness, crafts, cooking, magic, dance, drawing lessons and more. "We always have something for everyone in the family, and a lot of it," Diana Kerekes, Comcast's VP of entertainment services, said in a prepared statement.