ITV Interview: Joe Franzetta, EVP of Corporate Development, GoldPocket Interactive

As [itvt] reported in our last issue, interactive TV technology, solutions and systems provider, GoldPocket Interactive (note: the company was recently acquired by Tandberg Television in a deal worth $79.8 million, made up of $74.6 million in cash and $5.2 million in Tandberg shares), recently launched "two-screen," broadcast-synchronized interactive TV applications for US cable channels, TBS and The History Channel.

The TBS application, which is located on the broadcaster's Web site, accompanies the show, "Daisy Does America," an improvisational comedy in which UK actress-comedian, Daisy Donovan, travels across the US, and adopts a series of personas that allow her to interact with various iconic and extreme characters whom she meets in the course of her travels. The History Channel applications--one Web-based and the other wireless-based--accompanied a special week of programming (December 5th through 9th) devoted to "Boys' Toys." Both "Boys' Toys" apps were sponsored by IBM. (Note: for more on the apps and their respective feature sets, see [itvt] Issue 6.46 Part 3.)

[itvt]'s Tracy Swedlow recently spoke to GoldPocket's EVP of corporate development, Joe Franzetta, about the new applications, about why he believes there is a resurgence of interest in two-screen interactive TV even as the infrastructure needed to support single-screen interactive TV becomes more widely deployed in the US, about the kinds of announcements GoldPocket expects to be making over the course of the coming year, and more.

[itvt]: What kinds of developments has GoldPocket been seeing in the interactive TV market in the past few months?

Franzetta: One thing we're seeing is that advertisers and television networks are very interested in broadband TV. A by-product of this interest in the Internet is that we have, you might say, gone "back to the future" a little bit with two-screen interactive TV. Now, obviously, there's a lot of interest on the part of broadcasters and advertisers in deployment of single-screen, set-top box-based applications with both cable and satellite, but we're also seeing a lot of interest in the old, two-screen model. Which I think is partly because our ongoing message of the importance of cross-platform content delivery capabilities is becoming more and more the mantra of the television networks we work with. They want to reach people however they can: whether by set-top box devices, wireless devices or broadband-connected devices.

[itvt]: I think a lot of people thought that two-screen interactive TV was just going to be a temporary solution, until more powerful set-top boxes were widely deployed.

Franzetta: The interest in PC-delivered two-screen ITV applications is tracking very nicely with the resurgence of investment in Internet-related properties that the increasing penetration of broadband has given rise to. With two-screen applications, you had an initial green field of opportunity, but what you could do was restricted by the lack of bandwidth. There wasn't a lot of broadband penetration, and there wasn't a lot of Wi-Fi--which, of course, makes it easier for people to use their computers while watching TV. But now, a lot of people have Wi-Fi in their homes, and certainly broadband penetration in general has gone way up. Because of the increasing availability of broadband, we're also seeing advertisers becoming more and more interested in reaching consumers on the PC and in cross-platform in general.

[itvt]: Now, one of the two-screen apps you just announced, "Boys' Toys Interactive," was sponsored by IBM, correct?

Franzetta: Yes. IBM was interested in sponsoring the PC app, and was also largely responsible for the show having a wireless app. The wireless app included some of the same interactive features that the PC app had. The goal was to give end-users a choice of which platform they would like to interact on, as the target audience for "Boys' Toys" is generally comfortable using new technologies. In general, networks now realize the need to put interactive TV applications in front of viewers however those viewers want them, wherever they want them, and whenever they want them. And, of course, they also recognize that multiplatform interactivity is something that their advertisers are interested in. So I think A&E/History recognizes that making interactive features available on multiple platforms--and wireless is obviously a widely deployed platform--is something that's going to be critical to the success of their interactive ventures going forward.

[itvt]: How did IBM become involved in sponsoring the app?

Franzetta: They got involved through the ad sales group at A&E/History. The History Channel had identified the Boys' Toys programming as something they were interested in adding interactivity to, and their ad sales group presented the opportunity to some of their existing customers. IBM took a particular interest in it, and agreed that it would attract the right audience for them--that it would be the right format for them to reach the demographic they were targeting.

[itvt]: In addition to the app for the History Channel, GoldPocket just announced that it was doing another app for TBS. Both of those are long-standing customers of yours. Does working with long-term customers facilitate the process of developing interactive TV applications?

Franzetta: Absolutely. As ongoing customers, TBS and A&E/History both understand the process of choosing which programs are best suited for interactivity, and understand the creative process of developing and building the interactive application itself. They also understand how to present interactive TV applications as an opportunity to potential advertisers. So the whole process of getting apps sponsored and on the air becomes more and more streamlined. At the same time, we learn from them: for example, we learn what kinds of interactivity are potentially of interest to their viewers, and what types of programming on their channels are most suited for interactivity. I would say that we have strong, growing relationships with both those networks, and anticipate doing a lot more work with both of them over the coming year in two-screen, single-screen and wireless.

[itvt]: When you work with broadcasters, do you typically design and build your applications in-house?

Franzetta: We'll work with customers in any way they choose. So I would say that around a third of our customers ask us to build the application for them--though, of course, anything we do goes through a review process. Another third will want to develop the app themselves in-house, using our tools and technologies. And another third or so will contract a third party to develop the app, using our tools and technologies.

[itvt]: So even though, as far as I recall, GoldPocket has never formally announced it, you frequently make your tools available to third parties.

Franzetta: Yes, we've never really announced it, but customers and third parties have been using our tools for years for everything from application build to content production to live triggering. The choice is really customer-driven and we'll work with customers however they prefer. A few examples of customers that have used our tools include CNN, FOX, TechTV (now G4), and Bell ExpressVu. Several customers also use our tools for review and feedback.

[itvt]: How long is the development cycle for your interactive TV apps these days?

Franzetta: The development cycle is fairly quick. It depends on how many iterations the customer wants, on whether we're developing the app or they're developing it in house, and on how long it takes the broadcaster to provide us with creative feedback. Some broadcasters will turn around responses in a day, and others will take a couple of weeks. From our perspective, on average today, most applications can be up and running within four to six weeks, and that includes everything from coming up with the concept, to design and deployment.

[itvt]: Do you find there is a lot of interest in interactive TV on the part of producers? Are you working with producers more than previously?

Franzetta: The way we generally operate is that we work with the television networks and take direction from them. They will have any number of reasons to want to do something: it could be because the producer is interested, but also because an advertiser is interested, or simply because they think the programming is appropriate. On the other hand, I can tell you that there are many producers in Hollywood who have been through our doors lately and who are very interested in adding interactivity to their programs, and then, in turn, working with their network partners to bring that interactivity to fruition. We're definitely very happy to work with producers, but again, we generally feel that ultimately the network is a huge part of the equation and needs to be brought into the process. However, if producers are into it, all the better, as their creative perspective will surely add a lot.

In general, the awareness within the creative community of the opportunities provided by interactive television--and I mean all flavors of interactive television--is much higher than I've experienced in all the time that I've been in this industry. I think it's because we're turning the corner in terms of user adoption, in terms of ubiquity, in terms of availability, and in terms of advertiser demand for the product.

[itvt]: We're expecting to see a lot of announcements of OCAP deployments in the US over the coming year. Does that mean that we'll be seeing a lot of announcements from GoldPocket about set-top box applications?

Franzetta: You will definitely see a lot of announcements from GoldPocket over the coming year about set-top box deployments. How many of those deployments will be OCAP-related, I can't really comment on. We take direction from our operator customers, and will deploy interactive applications to whatever platform an operator chooses.

[itvt]: Where is most of your business coming from these days: from operators or from broadcasters?

Franzetta: It's pretty evenly distributed between the two, which makes us very confident about the future.

[itvt]: I understand you've been hiring quite a bit recently. Are you preparing for something specific?

Franzetta: We're just preparing for what we anticipate will be explosive growth of the company on all fronts. We're seeing a lot of momentum for interactive TV in cable, in satellite, in broadband TV, in two-screen, and in wireless. So, in order to keep up with the pace of adoption, we need to make sure that we're one step ahead of the curve.

[itvt]: I take it that GoldPocket--especially now that it's part of Tandberg--has international expansion plans…

Franzetta: I think it's more than likely that, before long, you'll see expansion of GoldPocket's products throughout the world. We haven't yet formally announced a plan for doing that, but we'll be announcing something in the near future. So I would say, "Stay tuned!"

URL: http://www.goldpocket.com

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