Industry Remains Hopeful On Interactive Tv Prospects

摘要

The interactive television market is on the brink of living up to long held expectations spurred by the growth of broadband internet, according to industry executives at this week's MIP TV programming market in Cannes. Speaking on a panel to discuss the future of interactive, Ian Valentine, chief executive of Miniweb Interactive, the interactive television subsidiary of BSkyB, predicted that the medium would generate "billions" of pounds of revenue for operators. He said: "It will be the third leg of the stool, it's not just about advertising and subscription revenue and we will see more channels funded just by that [interactive TV]." Valentine cited research that there will be 160 million IP-connected devices by 2011 and the market has the potential to grow to become a ￡40 billion sector. "Interactive TV is about to explode and this means this industry is about to bloom," he said. Amos Manasseh, vice president of global sales and marketing at interactive television specialists Open TV, said that it was imperative to convert passive viewers to become more active so that they engage in interactive applications. Broadcasters will have to take steps to retain viewers, he said, television sets (idTVs) which, under European legislation, have to include a common interface if they are sold in the European Union. According to Nagra's Stransky, members of the DVB were "struggling a little bit to have a consensus" about a second version of the standard. "While we have an understanding of where we want to go, there is some disagreement on how we want to go there," he said.