--Channel's President, Ryan O'Hara, Discusses its New ITV App with [itvt]
Gemstar-TV Guide has teamed with interactive TV authoring solutions provider, Ensequence, to develop an ITV application to accompany its flagship TV Guide Channel on EchoStar's DISH Network satellite TV platform (note: Gemstar-TV Guide already offers an ITV app to accompany its horseracing channel, TVG). The app, which was built by Ensequence's professional services group using the company's on-Q Create ITV authoring software suite, will debut later this quarter, and will, among other things, provide viewers with programming recommendations from TV Guide's editorial staff. Viewers will launch it by pressing "select" on their remote while tuned to TV Guide Channel (note: starting May 2nd, TV Guide Channel will be offered on DISH Network in a new channel location, in full-screen mode; it currently shares the screen with an old-fashioned rotating channel guide), or by selecting it from the "Entertainment" category on DISH Network's interactive TV portal, DishHOME. In addition to providing recommendations for what to watch in up to 10 different programming categories, the app will allow viewers to set program reminders, schedule DVR recordings, upgrade their programming packages and order pay-per-view programming.
TV Guide Channel's president, Ryan O'Hara, recently spoke to [itvt]'s Tracy Swedlow about the new app's functionality and content; about the channel's plans to monetize it through advertising; about its plans to add video and user-generated content to the app; and more.
[itvt]: How did the TV Guide ITV application come about? How long has it been in development?
O'Hara: Well, as you probably know, we've had a close relationship with [director of interactive programming] Scott Higgins and the interactive TV team at DISH for several years now. We launched the TVG horseracing network ITV application with them, which has been a great success. So we've been talking with them for some time about enhancing TV Guide Channel, and specifically about creating an application that was really unique both for TV Guide Channel and for DISH--and for customers. So we have been working on it for over a year, and now it's finally come to fruition.
[itvt]: Could you tell us a little about the app itself?
O'Hara: Well, you access the app by pressing "select" on your remote control while tuned to TV Guide Channel, or you can access it through DISH Network's interactive TV portal, DishHOME.
The main part of the app is called "TV Guide Recommends," and you can see it listed on the nav bar on the left. What it does is draw on TV Guide's proprietary data in order to provide various categories of recommendations. The application has the flexibility to present up to 10 different recommendations categories, which means we can create new categories around, for example, seasonality, genres, specials, etc. However, at launch we are activating four or five categories of recommendations. They include "Hot List," which is a list of what we think are the hottest shows on 
television for that day. Then there's "Movies," which features movie recommendations. There's "Primetime," featuring recommendations specifically for primetime viewing. And there's also "Family Faves," which is TV Guide's suggestions on family-friendly programming. So we've used our content infrastructure system--we've used data provided by various different parts of TV Guide the company--to populate this application. How we like to put it is that you're getting these recommendations from TV Guide as a brand, and that you're also getting the benefit of the expertise of our various different properties--so TV Guide Magazine, TVGuide.com and TV Guide Channel. We're using our internal editorial capacity to populate this application--just like we populate our Web site, our channel and our magazine. That editorial capacity consists not only of our editorial staff, but also of a very sophisticated content infrastructure backend that we've invested lots of money into over the past couple of years, and that we plan to invest more in over the next few years. Our editorial database is one of the core assets of our corporation. We're proud of it and we're investing in it.
Now, while "Hot List," "Movies," "Family Faves" and "Primetime" are the primary categories we're launching with, the categories the app offers will sometimes change. For example, during the holiday season, we'll have a list of the best Christmas-themed shows. And we'll also have a list of the hottest premieres, lists of fall previews and so on. Basically, the recommendation part of the app builds on TV Guide the brand, and is based on our expertise in guiding people to the best stuff on TV.
[itvt]: So when you select one of the categories within "TV Guide Recommends," what happens next?
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O'Hara: Say you were to click on "Movie Picks": you'd then see a list of several movies that we recommend as the best movies currently available on TV. You have the option of getting more data on each of those movies by navigating to the movie title and pressing "select." At that point you are presented with a detailed screen, including a brief description of the movie. If you're in a DVR-enabled home, the app also gives you the ability to record a movie or programming selection right from the screen: you simply press "record," and your DVR will record it. Additionally, the app allows you to set a reminder, and, if a pay-per-view movie is listed, it connects you to the pay-per-view ordering application. So it actually has some of the features of an IPG.
[itvt]: Now, when you record from within the app, you go to the DISH DVR interface, correct?
O'Hara: It actually sets the record event without leaving our app. We do the work through the API. So, if you were to go to your IPG later and find the program you chose to record using "select," you would see the record indicator set in the IPG.
[itvt]: In the nav bar on the left, there's also an option called "On Now." What does selecting that option do?
O'Hara: The "On Now" option allows you to see what shows are actually on right now. We've listed the top 30 networks, based on Nielsen ratings, and we have in-depth descriptions of the programs that are currently airing on those 30 networks or airing in the next 30 minutes. As I mentioned before, this app has some of the functionality of an IPG--so the "On Now" option is basically a mini-IPG that lists what's on right now or next on the 30 biggest networks. Like a regular IPG, the "On Now" option also allows viewers to record programs, set reminders, or--in the case of pay-per-view movies--place orders. Now obviously this application isn't intended to supplant the IPG. But it's a recommendation tool that has some unique IPG-type features that I think people who love television are really going to like.
[itvt]: The nav bar on the left also gives you an option called "Watch TVGC." Now that allows you to…
O'Hara: That just lets you go back and watch the channel in full-screen mode. And the fourth option in the nav bar, "DISH Home," just allows you to go to DISH Network's interactive TV portal.
[itvt]: I understand the application also allows you to upgrade your programming package, correct?
O'Hara: Yes. If the user selects a program on a network that they don't currently subscribe to, they can select an "upgrade" option. By pressing "upgrade," they will either be taken to the DISH interactive customer service area--or, if the user's set-top box is a model not capable of going to the interactive customer service area, the user will see a customer service phone number displayed.
[itvt]: What about advertising and sponsorship? Are you planning to include paid-for recommendations, for example?
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O'Hara: I don't like the idea of paid-for recommendations. It's not really what we're all about, and I certainly don't think we're going to be doing that out of the gate. However, we are very interested in working with advertisers, particularly with our blue-chip advertisers, on finding a way to integrate this app with the portfolio of offerings--including TV Guide Magazine and our channel and shows--that we can provide to them.
We can easily adapt the application to include advertising messages, and the ability for people to dig deeper into ads.
[itvt]: Now the app isn't synchronized in any way with the content on your linear channel, correct?
O'Hara: The functionality to synchronize video content to the app is there. But we won't be using it right out of the gate, while we determine the best way to do it. However, nearly all of our channel's content is related to guidance--some of it is pure entertainment, but most of it is programming about television. So, when you're looking at, say, the app's hot list of what we think are the best shows currently on television, there's a very good chance that the program that's on the channel while you're accessing the app is discussing some of the shows that are on that hot list.
[itvt]: Do you have any plans to offer a version of this app on mobiles?
O'Hara: Well, on the mobile front we're working on a number of projects that have to do with IPG's and editorial guidance. Now, whether or not the UI and the specific functionality of any such apps we develop will be similar to this app remains to be seen. But we are definitely talking to the mobile world.
[itvt]: Why did you launch this app with DISH Network rather than with, say, DirecTV?
O'Hara: Well, we have a longstanding relationship with them, so we've proven that we can deliver. The application we did on DISH for our horseracing network, TVG, has been a huge success. Also, I think Scott and [DISH Network interactive programming coordinator] Chris Kuhrt are more aggressive than most: they've probably launched more interactive television applications than anybody in the US. So we like to work with them.
However, when it comes to interactive TV, we're in conversations with everybody. I talk to my friends at DirecTV, like Eric Shanks, I talk to Time Warner, Comcast, Cablevision, and so on.
[itvt]: So you plan to offer this app on DirecTV and Time Warner Cable?
O'Hara: Yes, we want to. We wanted to get the app off to a good start, and we decided to launch it on DISH, where we've had success in the past. However, we've already met with Time Warner Cable to discuss launching it on their systems, and we're going to be meeting next with other cable operators and with DirecTV.
[itvt]: Why did you decide to work with Ensequence on this application? Was that due to DISH's influence, as they've worked with them in the past?
O'Hara: We didn't have to work with Ensequence, but we chose to. We're working on other areas with them now. They've just been a very good partner, and we like them as a team. Our collaborations with them have always worked out well.
[itvt]: Could you talk a little more about the specific Ensequence tools you used, and the process of using them? Did anything interesting come to light during the process of building the app?
O'Hara: Ensequence did the set-top development using their on-Q set of interactive television authoring and broadcast tools, running on top of the EchoStar middleware provided by OpenTV. One advantage to the on-Q suite is that you can build "prototypes" that are, or are near to, real applications. As you refine the prototypes, you end up with real applications. We found this rapid development approach useful. The application data feeds, by the way, were developed by our own TV Guide Channel software development group. This application is heavily dependent on data from our own backoffice systems, and we use proprietary technology to generate and deliver the data sets. We have tremendous flexibility to drive the application with our data.
[itvt]: Do you have long-term plans for this app? I take it that this is something you see yourselves enhancing and expanding going forward?
O'Hara: Yes. Once it's out there, we think it's going to last and that it's going to evolve and grow as a product. So we think of it as a long-term, value-added product for consumers and pay-TV operators. As a company, we see ourselves as being at the cutting edge of TV guidance, from IPG's to TVG to this one and the next. This app is a significant piece of that puzzle.
[itvt]: More specifically, what's your roadmap for the app?
O'Hara: We have a full development plan that allows us to take the application in different directions. We think we're going to be able to add more functionality to the recommendation side of it. For example, we've talked to DISH and Ensequence about potentially adding some video that would allow us to enhance our descriptions of the shows and movies we recommend. So you will likely see something like that in the future.
[itvt]: So the app may eventually feature multi-streaming, mosaic windows and that kind of stuff?
O'Hara: Yes. We've talked to DISH about doing that--though in the future. There's always the bandwidth consideration. But we're looking at ways of doing this kind of thing more efficiently.
Another thing we're working on is this: as you may know, we have a very vibrant community on TVGuide.com, which, among other things, likes to recommend shows. So we're thinking about adding a feature to the app that will say, "Here are the shows that our TV Guide community likes" or "Here are the shows that people like you like." We might also organize this kind of user-generated content according to specific types of recommenders: so the app would allow you to choose between recommendations from teenagers, or women, or kids, for example. So we hope to eventually provide users of the app with two major recommendation options: recommendations that represent the editorial voice of TV Guide and user-generated recommendations.
All in all, we feel this is another important evolution in TV Guide's work in interactive television. We have a terrific development team and an affiliate team that understands this world--we seem to be a good choice for operators to work with. And we plan to keep on breaking new ground with our product portfolio for consumers.
URL: TV Guide
Originally Published: April 25, 2007 in [itvt] Issue 7.28
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