Two Way TV Australia–a company which holds exclusive perpetual licenses to use technologies and content from Two Way TV UK in Australia and New Zealand, and which, following an IPO in which it raised AUS$40 million to fund its expansion, last year signed a licensing deal with the UK company that will allow it to use the latter’s technologies in a number of new Asian markets–has appointed Chris Grant-Foster, 41, as CEO. Grant-Foster was previously Asia Pacific CEO of iTouch Australia Pty Ltd., where, according to TWTV Australia, he grew revenue by 12% in fiscal 2005 and by 155% in fiscal 2004, and also successfully negotiated contracts with the PBL group of companies and with the Seven and Ten networks, and extended contracts with Telstra, Optus, Motorola and ninemsn. Prior to that, he held management roles at Samsung Australia, Hutchison Telecommunications, and Siemens Australia and UK. According to TWTV Australia, he has extensive experience in the content and telecommunications industries and the interactive technology space in Asia. Following Grant-Foster’s appointment, TWTV Australia founder, Jim McKay, has stepped down as managing director and will now serve as executive director. "Chris is an entrepreneurial, energetic man who is perfectly poised to capitalize on the foundations we have carefully laid," TWTV Australia chairman, Stuart McGregor, said in a prepared statement. "He fully grasps the opportunities we have in front of us regarding mobile phone interactivity and his experience in Asia will prove invaluable. Add the depth of experience of the company’s founder Jim McKay, who extended his original contractual obligation by six months to cover the CEO role until this appointment, and you have a formidable combination. Jim has made, and will continue to make, an enormous contribution to the business with his wealth of knowledge and experience."
According to TWTV Australia, Grant-Foster will focus on expanding the company’s presence in the Asian market. Among other things, the company recently finalized an agreement with News Corp.-owned Asian pay-TV provider, STAR Group, that will see the latter deploying a mobile-to-TV technology, called Simcast, which enables interactive TV applications that viewers can respond to using their mobile phones. (Note: TWTV Australia licenses Simcast from Two Way TV UK, which acquired the technology via its purchase of the company that created it–also called Simcast–in September, 2004. The technology handles incoming mobile messages and votes, provides moderation tools for studio personnel, and displays messages and poll results on- screen in real time. While Simcast services can be tailor-made to run alongside programming, several Simcast-powered "off-the-peg" mobile-to-TV games and services are also available, including "Reverse Auction," which invites viewers to use their mobiles to bid for products, and "Quiz," a question-and-answer format.) According to TWTV Australia, STAR–which broadcasts over 50 channels in eight languages, and which claims that its programming reaches 300 million viewers in 53 Asian countries and is watched by approximately 100 million viewers every day–plans to use Simcast for a wide range of interactive applications across its portfolio of channels. The company says that the deal with STAR, which has a five-year term, will "generate multiple revenue streams…from the deployment of multiple applications across multiple countries."
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