itvt

Macrovision, the company that recently acquired the US’s dominant
EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide, has signed a deal with Yahoo!
Japan Corporation, Japan’s largest Web portal, that will see the latter
deploying a syndicated version of Macrovision’s G-GUIDE EPG in
Japan, through Yahoo! TV. “We are very pleased that Yahoo! Japan
has selected Macrovision’s G-GUIDE for Yahoo! TV, enabling
customers to experience the advantages of an advanced IPG service,”
Akitaka Nishimura, Macrovision’s executive director for the Asia
Pacific region, said in a prepared statement. “This collaboration is an
important milestone for us, shaping the way in which consumers
interact with and enjoy digital content.” In Japan, Macrovision offers its
online EPG through Interactive Program Guide, Inc., a joint venture
with DENTSU and Tokyo News Services. Versions of the G-GUIDE
are also available in Japan on digital TV sets, DVR’s, PC’s, game
consoles and mobile phones.

In other Macrovision news:

• The company has signed a patent license agreement with LG
  Electronics for the European market. The multi-year agreement
  provides LG with a license that allows it to incorporate EPG’s into
  DVR’s and integrated digital television sets that will be distributed
  throughout Europe.

• The company has signed a new, multi-year licensing agreement with
  Hitachi. The deal extends Hitachi’s current license to incorporate the
  G-GUIDE EPG into its digital television sets and DVR’s for the
  Japanese market. “Hitachi’s decision to extend its licensing agreements
  with Macrovision underscores the strength of our technology and
  intellectual property on digital platforms,” Macrovision’s Akitaka
  Nishimura said in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to continue to
  work with Hitachi and are committed to providing TV consumers in
  Japan with an enhanced IPG that will add to their digital media
  experience.”

• The company’s TV Guide Online division recently launched an
  Online Video Guide widget, which it says will enable partners and
  consumers to add customized video search and continuously updated
  video feeds to any Web site. The syndicated widget is an extension of
  TVGuide.com’s video search engine, the Online Video Guide. “The
  Online Video Guide widget embeds easily into Web sites and provides
  users with instant access to hundreds of thousands of television,
  celebrity, movie, news and music videos from top Web sites,” Paul
  Greenberg, EVP and general manager of TV Guide Online, said in a
  prepared statement. “Whether consumers are looking for the latest full
  episode of ‘Lost’ or the latest Rihanna video, this widget is a fast and
  easy way to find it.” Sites that are offering the widget to date include
  the b4media blog sites, showtimefan.com and houseisright.com.