G4 Taps GoldPocket to Create Interactive TV Services for "Banzai"

--GoldPocket Wireless Powers NBC Universal’s "Top Chef," "Apprentice" Apps

G4--a US diginet that targets the 18-34 male demographic with programming on video games and more--has tapped Tandberg-subsidiary, GoldPocket Interactive, to create multiplatform interactive TV services to accompany the show, "Banzai." (Note: the latter, which originally aired in the UK, spoofs Japanese gameshows via a collection of bizarre characters and surreal games. GoldPocket's association with the show dates back to 2003, when the show debuted in the US on the Fox Network with GoldPocket-powered two-screen mobile- and Web-based interactive elements--see [itvt] Issue 5.12 Part 3) GoldPocket has built interactive TV applications for the show that allow viewers to play along using set-top boxes (where their cable operator supports single-screen interactivity), SMS-enabled mobiles and the Web.

To participate in "Banzai" via the Internet, viewers must first register on the official G4 "Banzai" Web site, and are assigned a fixed number of starter points. Points are then added to or subtracted from each player's score as he or she responds correctly or incorrectly to a series of multiple choice questions that are asked throughout the broadcast. Where single-screen interactivity is supported, the questions are also sent simultaneously to viewers' set-top boxes, allowing players across the two platforms to compete against one another to be featured on leaderboards on the air and on G4's Web site: the point leader for each week will be listed in a "Banzai Hall of Champions" on the site. Mobile phone users, meanwhile, can vote on the outcome of each of the show's contests through a solution provided by GoldPocket's GoldPocket Wireless arm: they are encouraged to vote via an on-air prompt, and aggregated poll results from all three platforms appear on air before each contest begins.

In other GoldPocket news: technology from GoldPocket Wireless is enabling SMS mobile applications that accompany reality TV shows on two NBC Universal channels: "Top Chef," which airs on Bravo (note: the show, a new offering from the producers of the popular reality show, "Project Runway," features 12 aspiring chefs, competing for a chance at culinary stardom), and "The Apprentice," which airs on the NBC terrestrial network. The applications, which are powered by GoldPocket Wireless's EMConnect Campaign Manager platform and which are offered free of charge (standard text-messaging rates apply), purport to share with viewers the thoughts of each show's participants as that show's story unfolds: viewers can sign up for the apps on Bravo's or NBC's Web sites, or via mobile, by texting shortcode, "62288" (to sign up for the "Top Chef" app, they text "TC" to the shortcode; to sign up for the "Apprentice" app, they text "APP" to the shortcode); then, in advance of each new episode of the new shows, they receive a tune-in alert, and, during the show itself, receive up to five text messages containing comments from different participants, synchronized with the broadcast.

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