ioko, Kontiki Develop Peer-to-Peer VOD System

UK-based IT company, ioko (note: among other things, the company manages Sky’s Web site and streaming video services), is teaming with Kontiki, a US company that specializes in peer-to-peer video-delivery technologies, on what they say will be a secure, legal, peer-to-peer VOD system, capable of delivering high-definition content. The system, which the companies say will launch shortly, is targeted at European broadband operators. It is powered by peer-to-peer "grid delivery" technology from Kontiki, whose customers include Ernst & Young, Verizon, AOL and the BBC, and which claims that the technology has over 20 million users. The technology is designed to speed up distribution of digital files by allowing users to share unused bandwidth on their computers and servers. It provides digital rights management through support of Microsoft’s Windows Rights Manager and allows content providers to specify how many times their content can be viewed and whether it can be copied. Because, unlike most peer-to-peer technologies, Kontiki’s allows content to be centrally managed, it will be possible to remove content from the Kontiki-ioko VOD system that violates copyright.

The companies claim that their system will avoid scalability problems and network gridlocks associated with traditional, centralized VOD systems. They say that they will be working together to deliver custom services based on the system to a "broad spectrum" of media companies, including their existing customers, the BBC–which is using Kontiki’s grid technology for its soon-to-begin Interactive Media Player trial–and Sky–which plans to launch a PC-based broadband VOD service for Sky Movies and Sky Sports subscribers in the fall. (Note: Kontiki’s technology also supports the Open Media Network, a non-profit broadband VOD service that provides an array of programming from US public broadcasters, and offers a measure of interactivity. For more on this, see [itvt] Issue 6.27 Part 2.)

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Thales Unveils New version of its SmartVision TV IPTV Platform

–Also Launches New VOD Solution for IPTV

At the IBC show in Amsterdam earlier this month, TV infrastructure company, Thales, unveiled a new version of its SmartVision TV IPTV platform. (Note: the platform has been deployed by France Telecom to support its "MaLigne tv" video-over-DSL service: Thales says that an extension of its contract with France Telecom that was signed earlier this summer could result in the platform supporting a million MaLigne tv subscribers "fairly soon," if the telco’s expansion plans for the service are successful.) According to Thales, the new version of the platform provides support for MPEG-4 AVC; for multiple platforms? TV, PC and mobile–on a single network; for remote end-user interaction with video services via the Web or mobile phones; for management of triple-play services through an end-user portal (note: the portal’s triple-play support includes phone service management, click-to-dial and a call log); and for a variety of VOD-types (e.g. subscription VOD and VOD with DVD-like features) and network PVR. The platform’s VOD and nPVR support is enabled by Thales’ new VOD solution for IPTV deployments, Sapphire VOD. The solution supports MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 AVC, and, Thales claims, leverages an advanced network device interface to offer "one of the highest numbers of streams per server available on the market today."

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HBO On Demand to Mark Hispanic Heritage Month

To mark Hispanic Heritage Month, premium programmer, HBO, will create a special "Hispanic Heritage" category within the "Inside HBO" area of its VOD service, HBO On Demand. The category, which will be available October 3rd through 31st, will feature a variety of Latino-oriented content, including HBO Films’ Spanish-language indie hit, "Maria Full of Grace," as well as a range movies and other programming across a variety of genres, including drama, comedy, and biography.

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Two Way TV Australia in Deal with Hong Kong’s ATV

Two Way TV Australia–a company which holds exclusive perpetual licenses to use technologies and content from Two Way TV UK in Australia and New Zealand, and which, following an IPO in which it raised AUS$40 million to fund its expansion, recently signed a licensing deal with the UK company that will allow it to use the latter’s technologies in a number of new Asian markets–has signed a deal with Hong Kong-based free-to-air broadcaster, Asia Television (ATV) and TV production company, International Football Marketing, to enable interactivity on the latter’s pre-game soccer panel series, "Kick Off Hot Talk." TWTV Australia will use the Simcast SMS-to-TV technology it licenses from its UK counterpart to enable interactive competitions, voting and chat on the program, starting with the latter’s UEFA Cup pre-match show on September 27th (note: the show will have 23-episode run, ending May 17th). Viewers will be able to compete to win cash and other prizes, including a grand prize at the end of the series, consisting of a trip to London and tickets to major soccer games. The cost for viewers to participate will be HK$2.00 per message in Hong Kong and RMB1 per message in mainland China. TWTV Australia says that the show’s producers anticipate that 3-6% of its audience will use the new interactive TV service: ATV claims that the show attracts approximately 600,000 viewers in Hong Kong and 4 million in the neighboring mainland China province of Guangdong. Net proceeds from the service (after carrier costs) will be shared equally between ATV, TWTV Australia and the show’s producer: TWTV Australia estimates that its share could total anywhere between Aus$170,000 and Aus$430,000. The company claims to be in negotiations with "numerous" other broadcasters in Asia that are interested in using its technologies to roll out ITV services.

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Interactive TV Sudoku Launches on Sky Gamestar

Puzzler Sudoku, an interactive TV version of the popular puzzle game, has launched on Sky Gamestar. The ITV version of the game is based on content supplied by Puzzler Media, the company that publishes the UK’s best-selling Sudoku print magazine, and follows the same rules as the print version: players must fill in a 9×9 grid in such a way that 1) every row, column and 3×3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9, and 2) the same number does not appear twice in any row, column or 3×3 box.

The Sky Gamestar version also offers various interactive extras, including:

• Demo (provides information on how experts play Sudoku).
• Four levels of difficulty ("easy," "mild," "medium," and "hard").
• Cheat (if players need help with a number, they can click on a "Cheat" button to have the app fill in a random square).
• Pen or pencil (allows players to toggle between pen and pencil mode, and enter up to nine pencil numbers into a single cell, then delete each number as others are crossed off).
• Check (when the player has finished filling out the puzzle, the app highlights any mistakes: the player has the choice of correcting errors or simply moving on).
• Timer (displays the amount of time taken to complete a puzzle).
• HighScore (an extra game where players can submit high scores for a chance to win prizes).
• Skip (allows players to skip between grids: each level of the puzzle has three grids to work through).
• Rows & Columns (highlighted columns and rows).
• Paths (shows matching numbers across the grid).

Players can purchase three complete puzzles at any one level for 60p or purchase unlimited access to all four levels of puzzles for £1.00 per session.

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Boston’s WNDS-TV to Relaunch as “My TV” (WZMY-TV)

–Rebranding Reflects New Focus on Viewer Participation

On September 26th, Boston TV station WNDS-TV will be relaunched as "My TV" (WZMY-TV). The station says that the rebranding is intended to reflect its plan to give viewers a say in its programming schedule, via its Web site, toll-free phone lines and community events. Viewers will also have the opportunity to appear in the station’s programs and station ID’s. "My TV will build a relationship with our viewers by involving them in the station and by delivering entertainment and news that relates to their values and reflects their lifestyles," Diane Sutter, president and CEO of the station’s parent company, ShootingStar, said in a prepared statement. "Consumers want control of their media, and we are uniquely positioned to give the consumer what he or she wants."

In related news: My TV has hired Rita Barry Corke as executive producer. She will focus on the development of original programming, and on the production of "My TV Prime," an interactive primetime talk show, hosted by Arnie Arnesen, that will launch on September 26th. "I am delighted to be working with our host, Arnie Arnesen, and the incredibly creative team at the new My TV," Barry Corke said in a prepared statement. "Our first talk show venture, My TV Prime, will be an unprecedented, exciting example of true collaboration with our viewing community. Each night, you can expect the unexpected, as we explore the stories New Englanders want to talk about, and feature the guests we all will want to meet."

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Matsushita Agrees to License Acacia ITV Patents

Acacia Research Corporation–a company that specializes in acquiring patents and then, through litigation or the threat of litigation, persuading other companies to license those patents–says that its wholly owned subsidiary, KY Data Systems, has entered into a non-exclusive license with Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co. covering a portfolio of patents that apply to interactive TV. (Note: other companies that have signed license agreements for the patents include Thomson and Sony.) The patents in question are part of the package of 27 patent portfolios (containing 120 US patents and a number of their foreign equivalents) which Acacia acquired last year from Global Patent Holdings. (Note: the deal saw Acacia paying $5 million in cash and issuing around 3.9 million shares to pay for the patents; the company will pay an additional $2 million in cash over a two-year period.) In a prepared statement, Acacia described the technologies and processes which it believes are covered by the patents. The patents, the statement read, "cover receivers such as set-top boxes and certain televisions used in digital satellite and digital cable systems that permit television viewers to access interactive television features supplied by their satellite and cable providers as part of their digital programming packages. Data, which is associated with the interactive television features and is broadcast along with the video signal," the statement continued, "is extracted and processed by components within the receivers, and is then made available to viewers who choose to access the interactive television features through their remote control. Examples of such data include sports scores, weather information, stock updates, interactive games, and movie listings."

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ADB, Thomson Sign Set-Top Patent Cross-Licensing Agreement

Set-top box vendors, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB) and Thomson, say that they have signed a cross-licensing agreement for digital set-top patents. The agreement, which covers all current and future digital set-top-related patents gained by the companies, is designed to broaden each company’s product offerings and will see Thomson adding ADB to its list of licensed digital set-top manufacturers. The agreement has an initial term of five years. "We are very pleased to have reached this agreement with Thomson, a company with one of the most significant patent portfolios in the digital television industry," ADB CEO, Philippe Lambinet, said in a prepared statement. "From the beginning technical innovation has always been a key priority for ADB. We hold a rich patent portfolio which we are delighted to bring to this arrangement. This is the first time that ADB has licensed its intellectual property portfolio to a third party."

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Paratel Develops Belgium’s First Interactive TV Ad

A Belgian company called Paratel contacted [itvt] earlier this week to let us know that it has developed what appears to be Belgium’s first interactive TV ad. The ad–for automaker Ford’s Fiesta model–is associated with a linear commercial aired by local broadcaster, VTM, and can be accessed by subscribers of Belgian cable company, Telenet (whose interactive TV offering is based on MHP 1.1). Viewers who press the red button during the commercial are taken to a Dedicated Advertiser Location (DAL), where they are invited to take part in a competition by answering a simple question. The app then checks to see if the return path from each viewer’s set-top box is enabled: if it is, the viewer is asked to enter his/her Telenet PIN; the viewer’s personal data then appears on screen, and the viewer presses a button to confirm his/her identity and allow his/her data to be sent to Paratel for processing. If, however, the application detects that a set-top box’s return path is not active, it presents the viewer with a page inviting him/her to send in his/her answer to the question via SMS, using a free shortcode: the viewer then receives an SMS back as proof of his/her participation. Paratel says that it built the DAL using DVB-HTML with embedded Xlets to connect to Telenet’s backend.

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Comcast Spotlight Trumpets Success of Great America VOD Ad

Comcast’s advertising division, Comcast Spotlight, says that a long-form advertisement, which it offered on its San Francisco system’s VOD platform, garnered 31,500 views between July 19th and August 19th: according to Comcast Spotlight, the ad was the most viewed video on Comcast’s San Francisco VOD system during that time period. The advertisement promoted season passes and a new attraction, "Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay Beach Club," at Santa Clara, Calif. theme park, Paramount’s Great America. Viewers were directed to the four-minute video ad–which was created by Comcast Spotlight using footage from Paramount Great America, and which was located in the "Spotlight" section of Comcast’s VOD service–by 30-second spots that ran on MTV, Lifetime and a number of other cable networks. "This campaign is a great example of how VOD is helping television advertising evolve," Warren Schlichting, Comcast Spotlight’s VP of new business development, said in a prepared statement. " Cross-platform campaigns like this give advertisers the chance to grab viewers’ attention with thirty-second spots and then direct them to VOD to provide more information. Comcast anticipates that customers will watch more than one billion VOD programs in 2005, and this is a great venue for advertisers to inform viewers about products while engaging them with the sight, sound and motion that television can offer."

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