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Bell Canada has launched two new single-screen interactive TV services–TSN Extra and CBC News Plus–on its pay-TV platform, Bell ExpressVu. The services, which were built by Recreate Solutions using the OpenTV SDK, allow viewers to gain more detail on specific news and sports stories from a list of the latest headlines, while watching regular broadcast TV. In order to launch TSN Extra, viewers press "select" on their remote controls while watching the TSN linear channel: they can then browse regularly updated sports news, scores and statistics, which appear as an overlay over the linear channel. They can also press "select" again,   or press "*," in order to toggle between the interactive TV application and a full-screen feed of the linear channel. The CBC News Plus application, meanwhile, works in a similar manner: in order to access the app, viewers press "select" while watching the CBC Newsworld linear channel. The app then allows them to browse national, international and business news headlines and features, and also to access supplemental coverage of health, "lifestyle" and technology news. "Interactive television services are rapidly changing the way Canadians watch and experience television," Pat Button, VP of marketing for Bell ExpressVu, said in a prepared statement. "ITV programming from Bell is unmatched in the industry. CBC News Plus and TSN Extra are excellent programming additions for ExpressVu and our ITV customers."

The new news and sports applications join an extensive line-up of interactive TV services offered by Bell ExpressVu. Those services include Weather Network Interactive, Playin’ Casino, Buzztime Trivia, NFL Sunday Ticket Interactive, and NHL Centre Ice with MultiVu (note: the latter allows subscribers to the NHL Centre Ice programming package to view up to six hockey games simultaneously on a single screen, and to access real-time scores, and goal and power-play alerts).

In other Bell ExpressVu news: the service has extended its carriage deal with GSN, a US channel notable for offering an extensive line-up of interactive and participation TV programming (note: the channel currently offers around 133 hours of interactive programming per week).

Originally Published: December 5, 2006  in [itvt] Issue 7.08 Part 3

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