Bschneider
01-11-2007, 09:31 PM
Cable TV To Bring Old Tube New Tricks
By RICHARD MULLINS The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jan 11, 2007
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBD0PDQSWE.html
TAMPA - This may be a hard year to be just a couch potato.
After years of work behind the scenes, major cable TV companies in the Tampa Bay area hope to launch a slew of on-screen inventions in 2007 to entice viewers to pick up the remote control and play along with the TV set - transforming television into a more interactive experience.
These include a Bright House Networks system that lets viewers restart and replay TV shows without buying a TiVo-like digital video recorder.
Other systems rolling out this year let the viewer buy products with the remote control and interact with commercials and game shows.
Even the humble channel guide is getting a makeover. Verizon's FiOS TV will launch a guide this year with a Google-style search feature that will seek out movies, music, video games and photos anywhere in the world.
Verizon also hopes to launch a system before the NFL draft in April that displays a dual screen, with a live football game and a viewer's fantasy NFL league Web site - with statistics updated in real time.
Add to this mix a slew of TV commercials that work more like video games, and all the new TV gadgetry may make 2007 one of the biggest years in TV's evolution in a decade.
"Cable companies have been promising things like this for a long time," said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor who studies popular television. "We may finally start to see some of that working. … It's going to be harder and harder to be a passive TV watcher."
Such a sudden onslaught of TV gadgetry is no coincidence. Cable companies have been in a lull since launching digital cable systems several years ago, Thompson said.
And they face a tougher marketplace as more buzz and advertising money goes online to companies such as Google, YouTube, MySpace and others - not to mention Internet-only TV shows and programs sent to cell phones.
Together, cable companies hope to protect and grow their share of an estimated $60 billion in yearly TV advertising spending - plus win subscribers over from their rivals.
Cable companies have yet to announce prices for the services, but executives said many of them will be included free with existing subscriptions as an incentive.
Commercials Could Be Customized
Not every new digital project will fly, Thompson said, and that will make for a fascinating year - especially for the Bay area, which is a battleground for Bright House, Knology Inc., satellite TV companies and the well-funded newcomer Verizon.
Commercials may be the first place many viewers start to notice eye-popping changes.
Bright House and Verizon will launch much more interactive advertising this year. Unlike a basic 30-second ad that promotes brand names, these ads will have small pop-ups that urge viewers to grab the remote and sign up to test-drive a new car, order a brochure or watch a minimovie about the product.
New ad systems can even split up commercials into six-second segments and custom mix them. Restaurant chain Wendy's has talked about a potential ad during the Super Bowl that adjusts the action between animated raccoons in real time. If the game is action-packed, the raccoons will be too. If the game drags on, the raccoons will mock it.
Verizon took an aggressive step in that direction by hiring former MTV Networks executive Jason Malamud last year.
Verizon hopes to launch more interactive ads, plus use new technology to target individual homes based on income, viewing habits, demographics and buying patterns, turning cable systems into "a direct marketers dream," Malamud has said.
Going one step further, Bright House and Verizon this year plan to launch shopping systems that allow viewers to select, view and buy products using their remote controls.
Verizon has struck a deal with St. Petersburg-based home shopping company HSN that allows viewers to buy products during HSN shows, said Joe Ambeault, director of interactive TV at Verizon.
During a program selling Wolfgang Puck-brand pots and pans, for example, Ambeault said viewers could push a button to see demonstration videos, recipes and photos - then order the cookware off the screen.
By midyear, Verizon hopes its "Marketplace" system will add customer product reviews and expert opinions from media companies such as CNET.
Together, the new ads and shopping systems can blur the line between TV show and commercial. Verizon's Ambeault cited one test commercial by Kraft Foods with the option for viewers to push a button and see richly produced cooking videos using new salad dressings.
Bright House Helps Viewers 'Start Over'
In case viewers miss any of the new action, Bright House plans test trials this year of systems that can rewind and replay live TV - even if viewers don't have a digital video recorder.
With its "Start Over" system, if viewers channel surf to a program in progress, a pop-up screen would appear asking whether they want to start the program again or pause and replay it later.
A select number of channels and programs are available in the first phase, but more will probably come along, Bright House division President Kevin
Hyman said.
"We're seeing a vast emergence of those Holy Grail applications like this with cable," Hyman said. "And we're seeing a lot of them start to happen in a short amount of time."
Verizon Takes A Page From Google
One of the thornier problems for cable companies has been the basic channel guide - and how to present dozens of programs within hundreds of channels.
Viewers easily end up in a rut watching the same channels or shows, not knowing something they may enjoy more is elsewhere in the lineup.
To fix that, Verizon's channel guide in 2007 will do a global search for show titles and the names of actors, characters or directors.
That way, a viewer could tell their cable box to seek out anything directed by Martin Scorsese or featuring Rachael Ray or about ancient Rome. The search would scan upcoming programs, plus past movies, dramas, documentaries, interviews, photos or any other kind of media stored in video-on-demand libraries - or even recorded but forgotten on the viewer's DVR box.
Even newer program guides take this a step further.
One guide developed by the cable software company Open TV in San Francisco analyzes what viewers watch and makes recommendations from content on TV or the Internet. If viewers like "The Matrix" series of techno-spiritual action films, they may also like the digital animation short film "Elephant's Dream" found only online.
Pay-Per-View Orders To Get Easier
Cable companies also want to spruce up their pay-per-view offerings. Most systems simply offer a yes/no choice to buy. Or the program is tucked high up in a pay-per-view channel tier that viewers have to seek out to buy.
Cable software developer Ensequence Inc., based in Portland, Ore., recently launched a project with the professional wrestling company WWE that shows one way to fix that.
During a WWE matchup, a pop-up would appear asking whether viewers want to hear more about the next big "Smackdown" event. If so, viewers then see a multimedia screen with preview clips, outtakes by the wrestlers and extra features.
Only then - after the viewer is accustomed to clicking buttons on the remote - does the system make the pitch to press just one more button and buy the video on demand.
"Younger generations are becoming much bigger consumers," said Aslam Khader, vice president of marketing and strategy at Ensequence. "They've grown up with video games, text messages, cell phones and the Internet, and they expect to control everything about their media experience."
By RICHARD MULLINS The Tampa Tribune
Published: Jan 11, 2007
http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGBD0PDQSWE.html
TAMPA - This may be a hard year to be just a couch potato.
After years of work behind the scenes, major cable TV companies in the Tampa Bay area hope to launch a slew of on-screen inventions in 2007 to entice viewers to pick up the remote control and play along with the TV set - transforming television into a more interactive experience.
These include a Bright House Networks system that lets viewers restart and replay TV shows without buying a TiVo-like digital video recorder.
Other systems rolling out this year let the viewer buy products with the remote control and interact with commercials and game shows.
Even the humble channel guide is getting a makeover. Verizon's FiOS TV will launch a guide this year with a Google-style search feature that will seek out movies, music, video games and photos anywhere in the world.
Verizon also hopes to launch a system before the NFL draft in April that displays a dual screen, with a live football game and a viewer's fantasy NFL league Web site - with statistics updated in real time.
Add to this mix a slew of TV commercials that work more like video games, and all the new TV gadgetry may make 2007 one of the biggest years in TV's evolution in a decade.
"Cable companies have been promising things like this for a long time," said Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor who studies popular television. "We may finally start to see some of that working. … It's going to be harder and harder to be a passive TV watcher."
Such a sudden onslaught of TV gadgetry is no coincidence. Cable companies have been in a lull since launching digital cable systems several years ago, Thompson said.
And they face a tougher marketplace as more buzz and advertising money goes online to companies such as Google, YouTube, MySpace and others - not to mention Internet-only TV shows and programs sent to cell phones.
Together, cable companies hope to protect and grow their share of an estimated $60 billion in yearly TV advertising spending - plus win subscribers over from their rivals.
Cable companies have yet to announce prices for the services, but executives said many of them will be included free with existing subscriptions as an incentive.
Commercials Could Be Customized
Not every new digital project will fly, Thompson said, and that will make for a fascinating year - especially for the Bay area, which is a battleground for Bright House, Knology Inc., satellite TV companies and the well-funded newcomer Verizon.
Commercials may be the first place many viewers start to notice eye-popping changes.
Bright House and Verizon will launch much more interactive advertising this year. Unlike a basic 30-second ad that promotes brand names, these ads will have small pop-ups that urge viewers to grab the remote and sign up to test-drive a new car, order a brochure or watch a minimovie about the product.
New ad systems can even split up commercials into six-second segments and custom mix them. Restaurant chain Wendy's has talked about a potential ad during the Super Bowl that adjusts the action between animated raccoons in real time. If the game is action-packed, the raccoons will be too. If the game drags on, the raccoons will mock it.
Verizon took an aggressive step in that direction by hiring former MTV Networks executive Jason Malamud last year.
Verizon hopes to launch more interactive ads, plus use new technology to target individual homes based on income, viewing habits, demographics and buying patterns, turning cable systems into "a direct marketers dream," Malamud has said.
Going one step further, Bright House and Verizon this year plan to launch shopping systems that allow viewers to select, view and buy products using their remote controls.
Verizon has struck a deal with St. Petersburg-based home shopping company HSN that allows viewers to buy products during HSN shows, said Joe Ambeault, director of interactive TV at Verizon.
During a program selling Wolfgang Puck-brand pots and pans, for example, Ambeault said viewers could push a button to see demonstration videos, recipes and photos - then order the cookware off the screen.
By midyear, Verizon hopes its "Marketplace" system will add customer product reviews and expert opinions from media companies such as CNET.
Together, the new ads and shopping systems can blur the line between TV show and commercial. Verizon's Ambeault cited one test commercial by Kraft Foods with the option for viewers to push a button and see richly produced cooking videos using new salad dressings.
Bright House Helps Viewers 'Start Over'
In case viewers miss any of the new action, Bright House plans test trials this year of systems that can rewind and replay live TV - even if viewers don't have a digital video recorder.
With its "Start Over" system, if viewers channel surf to a program in progress, a pop-up screen would appear asking whether they want to start the program again or pause and replay it later.
A select number of channels and programs are available in the first phase, but more will probably come along, Bright House division President Kevin
Hyman said.
"We're seeing a vast emergence of those Holy Grail applications like this with cable," Hyman said. "And we're seeing a lot of them start to happen in a short amount of time."
Verizon Takes A Page From Google
One of the thornier problems for cable companies has been the basic channel guide - and how to present dozens of programs within hundreds of channels.
Viewers easily end up in a rut watching the same channels or shows, not knowing something they may enjoy more is elsewhere in the lineup.
To fix that, Verizon's channel guide in 2007 will do a global search for show titles and the names of actors, characters or directors.
That way, a viewer could tell their cable box to seek out anything directed by Martin Scorsese or featuring Rachael Ray or about ancient Rome. The search would scan upcoming programs, plus past movies, dramas, documentaries, interviews, photos or any other kind of media stored in video-on-demand libraries - or even recorded but forgotten on the viewer's DVR box.
Even newer program guides take this a step further.
One guide developed by the cable software company Open TV in San Francisco analyzes what viewers watch and makes recommendations from content on TV or the Internet. If viewers like "The Matrix" series of techno-spiritual action films, they may also like the digital animation short film "Elephant's Dream" found only online.
Pay-Per-View Orders To Get Easier
Cable companies also want to spruce up their pay-per-view offerings. Most systems simply offer a yes/no choice to buy. Or the program is tucked high up in a pay-per-view channel tier that viewers have to seek out to buy.
Cable software developer Ensequence Inc., based in Portland, Ore., recently launched a project with the professional wrestling company WWE that shows one way to fix that.
During a WWE matchup, a pop-up would appear asking whether viewers want to hear more about the next big "Smackdown" event. If so, viewers then see a multimedia screen with preview clips, outtakes by the wrestlers and extra features.
Only then - after the viewer is accustomed to clicking buttons on the remote - does the system make the pitch to press just one more button and buy the video on demand.
"Younger generations are becoming much bigger consumers," said Aslam Khader, vice president of marketing and strategy at Ensequence. "They've grown up with video games, text messages, cell phones and the Internet, and they expect to control everything about their media experience."