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–Is Working with ITV Play on Formats Featuring User-Generated Content

Interactive TV production company, Two Way TV, is licensing a set of interactive TV game formats to ITV Play, the new participation TV channel from the UK’s largest commercial broadcaster, the Independent Television Network (generally referred to by the acronym, "ITV"), which launched on the UK’s free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview, last week, and which is expected to launch on other digital TV platforms later this year (its launch on the UK’s largest digital TV platform, Sky, is expected to take place in July). The games are based on Two Way TV’s "Simcast" SMS-to-TV technology, which it acquired through its purchase of the company of the same name in 2004. (Note: other companies that have licensed the Simcast platform include Turner, The Optimistic Network and iPlay in the UK, Star TV Asia, Hong Kong’s ATV, and Sky New Zealand.)

ITV Play is currently broadcasting eight hours of Two Way TV’s quiz and puzzle games per day (from 4:00AM to 12:00PM): Two Way TV games currently available on the channel include "Buzzwords; Izit?," a variation on hangman that features anagrams, and the jackpot show, "Bonus Ball Bonanza," which gives players the opportunity to win cash prizes. Viewers text in to play the games, scoring points for each question or puzzle they answer correctly. High-scoring players are listed on national leaderboards, which are broadcast approximately every 10 minutes during the shows.

Its deal with ITV Play will see Two Way TV regularly supplying new formats to the channel, and also eventually implementing chat functionality, that will allow viewers to text in messages to the channel’s hosts or to other players for display on the screen. According to Two Way TV, its games on the channel will subsequently add more community features and will also showcase user-generated content, including 3G video and MMS messages: "ITV Play is about much more than just winning money, so it’s the perfect opportunity for Two Way as specialists in creating fun, skill-based TV games," Two Way TV CEO, Jean de Fougerolles, said in a prepared statement. "Using SMS means we can communicate personally with each player, and it lets the viewers have their say on screen. As well making for better game play, it opens the door to building up coherent communities of players. As a result, we are working closely with the ITV Play team on formats that rely on viewer-generated content. The games being introduced after launch will have some very unique, community building features." (Note: for more on ITV Play, see [itvt] Issue 6.62 Part 3.)

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