CloverLeaf Digital in Localized ITV Deals with Grande, Pioneer Telephone

CloverLeaf Digital, a Brooklyn-based interactive TV applications developer that specializes in building and managing localized "walled-garden" services, says that Texas-based competitive broadband provider, Grande Communications, has signed a three-year extension of an agreement, under which CloverLeaf provides it with a custom version of its walled-garden news and information service, branded as Grande Interactive TV (note: Grande is somewhat of a pioneer in the interactive TV space: in addition to the CloverLeaf-powered walled-garden service, it offers services based on ICTV’s ActiveVideo platform). Grande Interactive TV is currently available to digital cable subscribers in seven Texan cities, and includes news and sports coverage from the Associated Press; local weather info from AccuWeather; local entertainment guides; horoscopes; and a local events calendar that is published by community organizations, using CloverLeaf’s DashDaily community publishing tools. The service also features an extensive line-up of video clips (powered by ICTV’s ActiveVideo platform), including news clips from the Associated Press and Odessa CBS affiliate, KOSA, and movie trailers. "As we enter our fifth year in business, our early contracts are coming to a conclusion, and although they say imitation is the greatest form of flattery, we consider it the greatest testament of the value of our services when our customers renew their contracts with long-term agreements," CloverLeaf founder and managing partner, Lawrence Brickman, said in a prepared statement. According to Grande’s chief service officer, Chad Jones, the operator plans to launch additional interactive TV services with CloverLeaf in the future.

In other CloverLeaf Digital news:

• The company says that Pioneer Telephone, which claims to be the fourth-largest telephone cooperative in the US, has launched its DotDaily localized interactive TV service. The service is now providing localized news and information to IPTV subscribers served by 72 exchanges in Oklahoma. It features news and sports coverage from the Associated Press, local weather info from AccuWeather, local movie guides, horoscopes, and local content (including community events calendars, school lunch menus and community slide shows) published by community organizations via CloverLeaf’s DashDaily tools. "CloverLeaf’s localized walled garden contributes to our efforts to provide our customers with content and functionality that they can’t get from cable or satellite," Pioneer’s video business manager, Scott Ulsaker, said in a prepared statement. "CloverLeaf was able to localize their service for every exchange on our network, and we already have several community organizations creating local content with the community content publishing tools."
• The company has signed a deal with Digeo to provide walled-garden information services to the latter’s Moxi platform (see article in this issue).

Originally published January 14, 2008 in Issue 7.58A
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