itvt

The 3rd Annual [itvt] Awards for Leadership in Interactive Television
will be presented at a ceremony next Tuesday evening (April 11th) at
the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s (NCTA) 2006
National Show in Atlanta (note: the ceremony will take place
5:30PM-7:15PM in Room B213 of the Georgia World Congress
Center; following the ceremony, attendees are encouraged to visit the
NCTA’s National Show Closing Night Party at the Tabernacle in
downtown Atlanta, which opens at 9:00PM and which features the
seminal indie rock band, The B-52’s). Awards will be presented to six
individuals who have demonstrated leadership in the ITV industry over
the past year, and to two "ITV All-Stars," recognized for their
long-term track record of leadership in the ITV industry.

While pre-registration for the event is now closed, we will be accepting
registrations at the door. Thanks to the many companies that have
kindly agreed to sponsor the event, admission is free. If you’re not able
to make it to the awards ceremony, please note that WhiteBlox will be
providing streaming coverage of the event (details on this will be
published in the newsletter shortly).

We are pleased to announce a great line-up of speakers and presenters
for the event. We would like to extend our thanks to them and to the
many other interactive TV experts who served as judges for this year’s
awards. More information on the speakers, presenters and judges is
below.

Speakers (Confirmed To Date)

John Callahan, SVP of the Advanced Technology Group, Time Warner Cable

As senior vice president of Time Warner Cable’s Advanced
Technology Group, John Callahan is playing a key role in the MSO’s
roll-out of standards-based interactive TV technologies and services.
He leads a team focused on software engineering and development of
Time Warner Cable’s next-generation digital navigation platform,
which features traditional Interactive Program Guide capabilities while
implementing advanced on-demand and interactive television services
for deployment across all the MSO’s legacy and OpenCable systems.

Prior to taking on his current position, Callahan was SVP and CTO of
Time Warner Cable’s Interactive Personal Video Group. The group
developed a headend-based PVR platform, dubbed "MystroTV,"
elements of which form the basis of Time Warner Cable’s recently
launched "Start Over" service; technologies developed under the
auspices of the MystroTV project are also expected to be used by the
MSO to develop other advanced services. Callahan began his tenure at
Time Warner Cable as a software architect and program manager for
the MSO’s pioneering interactive TV project, Full Service Network,
and subsequently managed its "Pegasus Program," which was charged
with deploying digital television systems across the entire Time Warner
Cable footprint. Prior to joining Time Warner Cable, Callahan worked
in systems software engineering and development at AT&T Bell
Laboratories and at US West Advanced Technologies. A Phi Beta
Kappa, Callahan holds a BA in computer science from Ohio Wesleyan
University and an MS in computer science from the University of
Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Tim Hanlon, Senior Vice President, Starcom MediaVest Group

For the past few years, Tim Hanlon, recipient of a 2004 [itvt] Award
for Leadership in Interactive Television, has been leading efforts to
introduce the advertising community to interactive television. As senior
vice president/director of emerging contacts for Starcom MediaVest
Group, a global media services network of Publicis Groupe, he is
responsible for all the agency’s US client activity and initiatives in
emerging media, and heads up its "TV 2.0" practice, which is designed
to help clients understand and take advantage of new TV
technologies–including interactive TV, EPG’s and addressable
advertising, as well as technologies such as PVR and VOD that are
often seen as a threat to TV advertising. Under Hanlon’s leadership, the
TV 2.0 practice has matched a roster of blue-chip advertisers that
includes Allstate, Best Buy, Discover Card, Kellogg, Kraft, Nintendo,
General Motors, Procter & Gamble, Sara Lee/Hanes, Walt Disney
World and others with 1) VOD content providers and system operators,
such as Scripps Networks, ESPN, Turner, Cox, Comcast and Time
Warner Cable; 2) interactive TV platforms such as OpenTV, MSN TV,
Navic, GoldPocket, and Disney-ABC Enhanced TV; and 3) the TiVo
DVR platform. The practice has also carried out significant work in
areas such as measurement and business modeling of non-linear TV
advertising. In addition to his work at Publicis, Hanlon serves as
chairman of the American Association of Advertising Agencies’
(AAAA) Advanced Television Committee, in which role he has led the
organization’s efforts to develop standards for measuring non-linear TV
advertising. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the
Innovation in Digital Advertising (IDiA) consortium, and a member of
the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ (NATAS)
Advanced Media Committee. He holds a BA from Georgetown
University, an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School
of Business, and an MA from the Annenberg School for
Communication at the University of Southern California.

Presenters

Jonathan Boltax, VP of Programming and Service Management, PixelPlay

Jonathan Boltax, recipient of a 2005 [itvt] Award for Leadership in
Interactive Television, recently joined interactive TV games company,
PixelPlay, as VP of programming and service management. He is
responsible for managing the programming of games and content on
the company’s current and future subscription-based game services in
North America, as well as for managing the service teams that the
company provides to MSO’s to help with the development of
content-specific promotions, tournaments, marketing and subscriber
acquisition for its ITV games.

Boltax was previously director of digital product development at
Cablevision, where, among other things, he managed the launch of the
first-ever subscription and pay-per-day ITV gaming services on a US
cable platform, expanded the MSO’s iO Games service, and oversaw
the development and operation of a variety of other ITV services,
including the interactive promotional channel, iO Showcase, and the
interactive news and information channel, iO Dashboard. In 2001, prior
to joining Cablevision, Boltax produced the US’s first 24/7 ITV
shopping channel on the Wink platform. In 1997, he founded the NBC
Enhanced Broadcast Group, responsible for the development of NBC’s
and CNBC’s ITV efforts. He also produced NBC’s enhanced TV
broadcast of the 1996 Olympic Games. In addition, he is a founding
member of the Advanced Television Enhancement Forum (ATVEF).

Kevin Cohen, SVP of Strategic Planning, Turner Broadcasting System

Kevin Cohen, recipient of a 2005 [itvt] Award for Leadership in
Interactive Television, currently serves as Turner Broadcasting
System’s (TBS) senior vice president of strategic planning. He was
previously SVP of business development and general manager of
interactive and enhanced television, in which role he was responsible
for developing and managing the company’s interactive TV efforts, for
coordinating with its various networks on the creation and design of
their interactive services, and for building industry partnerships (the
company’s partners in the ITV space have included Wink, AOL TV,
Real Networks, MystroTV, GoldPocket Interactive, and Visionik). He
has also led the company’s VOD efforts, launching on-demand services
from CNN, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Adult Swim, and TCM.

Don Dulchinos, SVP of Advanced Platforms and Services, CableLabs

Don Dulchinos, recipient of a 2005 [itvt] Award for Leadership in
Interactive Television, is senior vice president of advanced platforms
and services at US cable industry research-and-development body,
CableLabs. He directs and manages the organization’s OpenCable
project, a cable industry initiative which aims to establish a common
set of requirements for interoperable digital set-top boxes, television
receivers and other advanced digital devices manufactured by multiple
vendors. A key part of Dulchinos’ involvement in the OpenCable
project is overseeing the development of the OpenCable Application
Platform middleware standard (OCAP); he also oversees CableLabs’
efforts in interoperability testing for OpenCable products and services.
(Note: for an in-depth interview with Dulchinos, in which he discusses
the interop event that CableLabs organized last year for its OCAP and
ETV specifications, the future of OCAP, and more, see [itvt] Issue 6.28
Part 2.)

Scott Higgins, Director of Interactive TV Programming, EchoStar

Scott Higgins, recipient of a 2005 [itvt] Award for Leadership in
Interactive Television, oversees EchoStar’s interactive TV
programming group, which is responsible for designing, managing and
marketing ITV services on the company’s DISH Network satellite TV
platform. Under his leadership, the group has launched dozens of ITV
services, including news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, games and
customer support applications. The services are available to over 10
million households. Prior to joining EchoStar, Higgins worked at
OpenTV, where he was responsible for development processes
including design, licensing content data and delivery of interactive
programming in the US. Prior to that, he was an executive in charge of
production at Electronic Arts.

Rebecca Lim, Senior Director of Advanced Services, Starz Entertainment Group

As senior director of advanced services at Starz Entertainment Group,
Rebecca Lim has been closely involved in the ongoing development of
the company’s broadband SVOD services, Starz! Ticket on Real
Movies and Vongo. A long-time presence on the US cable and
interactive TV scenes, she is a member of CableLabs’ OCAP
Programmers Group, and helped author the organization’s ETV user
interface specification. She has also been a major contributor to the
Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing’s (CTAM) On
Demand Consortium, a body devoted to developing standards for VOD
interface design. For the past 10 years, she has been closely involved
with the Denver Chapter of the cable-industry AIDS charity, Cable
Positive: her contributions include executive producing the stage
production of the charity’s annual "Positively Cable Revue," an event
that has raised nearly $750,000 to support AIDS and HIV programs.
Last year, she received the Woman in Technology award from the
Rocky Mountain chapter of Women in Cable & Telecommunications
for her work on the user interface and customer experience of Starz’
advanced services.

Scott Newnam, President and CEO, GoldPocket Interactive

Under Scott Newnam’s leadership, GoldPocket Interactive, the
company he co-founded with Izet Fraanje (who serves as its chief
strategy officer), has enabled numerous interactive applications for a
roster of customers that includes CBS, GSN, HSN, Bell ExpressVu,
DirecTV, Fox, NBC, News Corp., and Time Warner. The company,
which was recently acquired by Tandberg Television, has also been
closely involved in a number of standards initiatives. Among other
achievements, Newnam, recipient of a 2005 [itvt] Award for
Leadership in Interactive Television, has guided GoldPocket through a
move to Los Angeles from Boston, where it was founded (he and
Fraanje were students at Harvard Business School and MIT), and has
managed its rapid growth, which has included the acquisitions of three
other companies.

Dewey Reid, Creative Director and Acting CEO, EAT.TV

Dewey Reid is co-founder, creative director and acting CEO of
EAT.TV (the name is an acronym for "Entertainment, Advertising,
Technology Television"). The company’s flagship product,
ImageGuide, is designed to enable end-users to navigate to the
broadband VOD content that interests them, while exposing them to
other on-demand content that may also be of interest: as end-users
navigate broadband VOD content categories, they can view trailers for
and detailed information on their content choices, as well as
promotional materials for content offerings or products related to the
content they are seeking out. According to EAT.TV, ImageGuide thus
makes possible new embedded advertising models that avoid
interrupting navigation or content viewing. An implementation of
ImageGuide can be seen at www.living.com, a broadband video service
from Scripps Networks that features "lifestyle" programming from its
HGTV, Food Network, DIY Network and Fine Living channels.
ImageGuide and Living.com recently won the National Academy of
Television Arts and Sciences’ 2005 Advanced Media Technology
Emmy for the Non-Synchronous Enhancement of Original Television
Content. Prior to co-founding EAT.TV, Reid played a key role in
designing numerous interactive network environments, including the
Moxi Media Center interface and MSN.

John P. Roberts, Senior Vice President of Interactive Entertainment, GSN

Thanks to the efforts of John P. Roberts, recipient of a 2005 [itvt]
Award for Leadership in Interactive Television, GSN offers more
two-screen and single-screen interactive TV programming than any
other US broadcaster: the network currently airs around 133 hours of
ITV-enabled programs each week. Roberts has also helped the network
exploit the commercial potential of ITV, by putting in place a
registration process for its applications that has allowed it to build a
database of over 2.5 million registered players–87 percent of whom fall
within the desirable 18-49 demographic. Since 2002, GSN’s
programming has triggered over 25 million ITV plays, and between
2002 and 2005 average interactive viewing time increased from 24 to
35 minutes.

Judges

John Allen, Chief Executive Officer, DigiSoft TV
Keith Bechard, Program Manager, Vidiom Systems
Jonathan Boltax, Vice President, Programming and Service Management, PixelPlay
Ron Chaimowitz, President and Chief Executive Officer, PixelPlay
Rahul Chakkara, Controller, BBCi
Kevin Cohen, SVP of Strategic Planning, Turner Broadcasting System
Allison Dollar, Chief Executive Officer, Interactive Television Alliance
Patrick Donoghue, Vice President, Development, Video and Digital TV, Cablevision
Don Dulchinos, Senior Vice President, Advanced Platforms and Services, CableLabs
Vincent Dureau, Chief Technology Officer, OpenTV
Jean de Fougerolles, Chief Executive Officer, Two Way TV
John Gregoire, President, BIAP Systems
Scott Gronmark, Principal, Scott Gronmark Associates
Scott Higgins, Director of Interactive TV Programming, EchoStar
Mickey Kalifa, Managing Director, PlayJam
John Kelleher, General Manager, EPG, Tribune Media Services
William Kreth, Director of Interactive Services, Time Warner Cable
Alex Libkind, President and Chief Executive Officer, Zodiac Gaming
Rebecca Lim, Senior Director, Advanced Services, Starz Entertainment Group
Rick Mandler, Vice President and General Manager, ABC Enhanced TV
Ben Mendelson, President, Interactive Television Alliance
Scott Newnam, President and Chief Executive Officer, GoldPocket Interactive
Dewey Reid, Creative Director and Acting CEO, EAT.TV
John P. Roberts, Senior Vice President, Interactive Entertainment, GSN
Bill Sheppard, Industry Marketing Manager for Digital Television, Sun Microsystems
Simon Smith, Creative Director, Weapon 7
Andrew Solmssen, Executive Vice President, Schematic
Doug Sylvester, Chief Operating Officer, TVN Entertainment

Introducing the [itvt] Interactive TV Sandbox Pavilion at the NCTA National Show

Centrally located on the show floor in Booth 3459, [itvt]’s Interactive
TV Sandbox Pavilion will provide hands-on demonstrations of
interactive and broadband TV technologies, as well as a place for
National Show attendees who are passionate about interactive TV to
congregate, socialize and network. Below is a list of the companies that
will be demonstrating products and services in the Pavilion.

Bluestreak Network

Bluestreak Network will be demo’ing applications based on the TV and
mobile versions of its flagship product, MachBlue. Both versions of
MachBlue are based on an optimized implementation of Flash and
ActionScript, and are designed to support highly demanding interactive
applications, such as games, multimedia portals, and EPG’s. Bluestreak
claims that the entire platform operates in less than 1MB of memory,
and allows products and services authored in Flash to run on set-top
boxes and mobile phones with a consistent look-and-feel.

Among other things, the he company will be showing:
–Time Warner Cable’s new digital navigator. The MSO has licensed
MachBlue as the core component of the navigator, which will be
deployed in all its divisions across the US. The navigator will be
supported by Bluestreak’s MachBlue Studio authoring tools, which
allow the development of Flash-based applications on digital set-tops.
–Mobile operator Orange France’s new "Orange World TV" mobile
portal. The MachBlue for Mobile-powered portal allows viewers to
access 52 broadcast and mobile-exclusive channels through a mosaic
guide display and channel banner. The portal, which Orange France
launched last month, is designed to make it easy for end-users to switch
between channels and find shows by content-type.
–Orange’s League 1 soccer application. This app, which is also
powered by MachBlue for Mobile, allows end-users to follow all
matches in multiplex, and receive highlights, news, commentaries, and
text-video alerts, as well as video clips of all goals, penalties and other
critical events during soccer games. The app, which was launched by
Orange France in February, is the first in a series of services that the
wireless network operator plans to roll out on its advanced mobiles.

In addition, Bluestreak will demo MachBlue working in tandem with
OpenTV’s middleware. According to the company, OpenTV
application developers can use MachBlue to create a range of games,
services and other set-top apps. The demo will show MachBlue-based
EPG, VOD and PVR apps running on OpenTV middleware.

DRM Labs

DRM Labs, which specializes in developing direct response marketing
solutions for interactive TV, mobiles and the Internet, will be demo’ing
its flagship products, Voupon and CyberDrawer. [itvt] asked DRM
Labs founder, Jeff Mankoff, to describe the products: "Here is how
Voupon works for ITV," he explained in an email. "An ITV-supported
commercial offers a 10%-off Voupon for XYZ Retailer. If the customer
already has their credit card on file with the cable company, they press
select on their remote to accept the Voupon, which is virtually attached
to their credit card. When the customer is ready to redeem the XYZ
Retailer Voupon, they go to XYZ Retailer and shop the way they
normally shop, with their credit card. The Voupon is automatically
redeemed. What DRM Labs is doing is making TV truly interactive by
delivering coupons through a TV and redeeming them without paper at
the advertiser’s offline store. We can deliver Voupons to mobile phones
with this model as well. Delivering Voupons today requires no capital
costs for either the cable provider or retailer. No new cable box or
printer connecting to a cable box is needed. Retailers do not need new
point-of-sale machines. Existing infrastructure is used. Second, Voupon
is media-neutral. This means that a retailer, in addition to delivering its
Retailer Voupons via ITV, can also choose to deliver offers via text
message, email or banner ad, and utilize the same redemption process
for every one. Thus a Voupon advertising program is scalable and easy
to implement for the retailer." Mankoff explained that CyberDrawer
enhances commercials with a pop-up window that gives consumers the
opportunity to acquire additional information about the advertised
product: when the viewer clicks the select button on the remote, the
desired information is automatically stored and categorized in that
viewer’s own, personalized Web-based organizer, located at the cable
company’s Web site or at www.cyberdrawer.com. "CyberDrawer acts
as a connection between the TV and the Internet, similar to a bookmark
site," Mankoff wrote. "After watching TV, when he is ready, the
consumer can retrieve the saved ad, [and] for the advertiser,
CyberDrawer has just time-shifted and extended the life of this
commercial. In addition to organizing Voupons and product
information," he continued, "CyberDrawer can organize lifestyle
information such as recipes, receipts, instruction manuals, warranties,
bookmarks, search results and countless other categories, no matter
whether the digital lifestyle information is delivered via ITV, email,
banner ad or mobile phone."

Interactive Meet And Greet Entertainment (IMAGE)

Interactive Meet And Greet Entertainment (IMAGE) will be demo’ing a
service, based on patented technologies, which it describes as allowing
consumers "to meet and obtain autographs directly from celebrities,
from the comfort of their homes." In addition to autographs, the
company says, the service can be used to facilitate the sale of any type
of merchandise that needs to be sold "in an orderly manner."

[itvt] asked IMAGE’s founder, Gary Sohmers, how the company’s
service works (note: Sohmers is himself somewhat of a celebrity:
among other things, he is a regular guest on the popular PBS show,
"Antiques Roadshow," where he specializes in appraising toys,
memorabilia and pop-culture collectibles): "[Our] patented ‘Business
Operating System’ allows guests to enter a unique interactive
environment where they actually see, hear and participate in the illusion
of standing in line to meet a celebrity at a live event," he explained.
"While waiting in the ‘Virtual Queue’ [note: the latter is also patented]
for personal access to the celebrity, guests can pay for the autographs
and merchandise, interact with others in the queue, play games, watch
or download audio and video clips, or just observe and listen to the
celebrity answering other guests’ questions. The technology also allows
guests to view other programming, including targeted addressable
advertising, while maintaining their place in the ‘Virtual Queue.’ The
experience culminates as a personalized contact experience between the
guest and the celebrity. At that point, the sale is finalized and the
merchandise is personalized and prepared for delivery. The session can
be digitally recorded by the consumer on a DVR set-top box or
computer, or the guest can order a DVD copy as a merchandise order
that can function as their guarantee of authenticity."

Kontiki

Kontiki (a Verisign company), which provides managed, peer-to-peer
delivery technology for broadband IP video, will be demo’ing its
Kontiki Delivery Management System and various products and
services that are based on that platform, including BSkyB’s Sky by
Broadband service (a recently launched PC-based broadband VOD
offering), the BBC’s Integrated Media Player (the latter, which was the
subject of a recently concluded 5,000-participant trial, will enable a
broadband programming catch-up service that will offer TV and radio
programs for seven days after their initial linear broadcast), AOL’s
Hi-Q format (the latter, which is offered as an option on AOL’s new
broadband TV service, In2TV, is designed to enable DVD-quality
Internet video downloads), and the Open Media Network (a non-profit
broadband VOD service that features an array of programming from
US public broadcasters).

Kontiki’s technology is designed to speed up distribution of digital files
by allowing users to share unused bandwidth on their computers and
servers. It provides digital rights management and allows content
providers to specify how many times their content can be viewed and
whether it can be copied. Because, unlike most peer-to-peer
technologies, Kontiki’s allows content to be centrally managed, it is
possible to prevent the distribution of content over the system that
violates copyright. Last month, Kontiki announced that it had reached a
$62 million deal to be acquired by VeriSign, a provider of "intelligent
infrastructure services" for Internet and telecommunications networks.
(Note: for an in-depth overview of Kontiki and its technologies, see
[itvt]’s interviews with the company’s VP of business development,
Scott Sahadi, in Issues 6.34 and 6.50.)

NDS

NDS is a News Corp. subsidiary that offers conditional access
technology, and interactive TV middleware and applications. The
company’s demo will be designed to show how its interactive TV
production tools–including its RapiVision authoring tool, its IEX
automated test script manager, and its ITV management station for
applications scheduling–can be used to easily develop, test and
synchronize delivery of ITV applications across multiple platforms.

Strategy & Technology/UniSoft

UK-based Strategy & Technology (S&T) and its US partner, UniSoft,
will unveil and demo S&T’s new TSDeveloper product, which is based
on similar technology to that used in S&T’s TSBroadcaster and
TSPlayer products. Designed as an integrated solution for generation
and playout of interactive TV applications in authoring,
applications-development and test environments, TSDeveloper
provides, according to the companies, DSM-CC Object Carousel
creation and management, Transport Stream generation, and an RF
Modulator in a compact desktop unit. Video and audio streams can also
be multiplexed for playout from the same unit. The product is
configured via a browser-based interface: up to four services and two
AV streams can be developed in each unit.

OCAP/ETV and DVB-T versions of TSDeveloper are available, and
both are shipping now. The OCAP/ETV version includes a 64/256
QAM cable modulator, thus enabling OCAP-compliant cable receivers
to be directly connected. UniSoft’s OCAP SFG application signing tool
is available as an option. The DVB-T version includes a COFDM
modulator. DVB-S and DVB-C versions of the product will be
available in the third quarter.

SysMedia

SysMedia will be unveiling and demo’ing new IPTV capabilities of its
Plasma Gold interactive content management and production system.
(Note: Plasma Gold was launched at the IBC show last year as a
replacement for the company’s Plasma Magenta system. Whereas its
predecessor only supported interactive TV services, Plasma Gold also
supports Web and mobile services. Other improvements over the old
system include audio/video stream switching within interactive
applications; enhanced return path capability for viewer response to
quizzes; support for interactive advertising and transactional services;
and support for video content objects. SysMedia also offers a range of
reskinnable "Interactive Frameworks," which are designed for use with
Plasma Gold, and which are intended to speed deployment of
interactive TV services.) The demo–which will see Plasma Gold
working in tandem with a Complete Media Systems CMS500 IPTV
set-top box, running the ANT Fresco browser–will be designed to
showcase the system serving as an end-to-end solution for content
creation, management, editing, updating and publishing to IPTV
set-tops.

Zetools

Zetools specializes in software for creating interactive experiences on
cable and satellite platforms, IPTV, broadband, mobile, and more. The
company, which has won two interactive TV Emmys, has been a
long-time presence on the US ITV scene: among other things, it has
been a frequent participant in the American Film Institute Digital
Content Lab and in the latter’s predecessor, the American Film Institute
Enhanced TV Workshop. It will be demo’ing work it has done with
AOL, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, and Telemundo. (Note: for a
description of "Mystery Online Theater," the broadband VOD offering
that Zetools recently worked on in partnership with Telemundo, under
the auspices of the AFI Digital Content Lab, see [itvt] Issue 6.63.)

and the

http://blog.itvt.com/my_weblog/2006/01/_announcing_the.html

Click http://www.itvt.com to subscribe to our free email newsletter, which contains all the news stories you see on this Web site, and additional breaking news and scoops, in-depth features, interviews, screenshots, videos, and other exclusive content you will not find anywhere else.