showtime

Premium programmer, Showtime Networks, on Wednesday announced the launch of the Showtime TV Widget, an interactive TV application designed for Internet-connected TV sets running the Yahoo! TV Widget Engine platform. According to the company, the new widget will provide viewers with interactive TV services, free sample episodes of Showtime original series season premieres, behind-the-scenes video features, "value-added content," and other "insider extras," via their connected TV's. "With the launch of the Showtime TV Widget, Showtime has an exciting new way to reach consumers," Robert Hayes, Showtime's SVP and general manager of digital media, said in a prepared statement.

A number of items of broadband-video and live-streaming news have come across [itvt]'s desk over the past few days. Here is a brief round-up:

BitGravity--a company which offers a content delivery network (CDN) that it bills as optimized for delivering HD-quality video live, on-demand and via interactive applications--contacted [itvt] Tuesday to let us know that "Strikeforce: All Access," an online interactive TV service which, in partnership with Episodic, it powers for premium programmer, Showtime Networks, will this Saturday for the first time be available to an international audience.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest cable MSO in the US, announced Thursday that it has signed a carriage deal with Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution and Showtime Networks. In addition for calling for the Smithsonian Channel to be added to Time Warner Cable's line-up of HDTV linear channels, the new agreement calls for Smithsonian Networks to offer a range of its programming on the MSO's HD VOD platform; on its broadband service, Road Runner High Speed Online; and on its interactive TV services, Start Over and Look Back. "We're thrilled to be a part of the Time Warner Cable family," Smithsonian Networks general manager, Tom Hayden, said in a prepared statement.

BitGravity--a company which offers a content delivery network (CDN) that it bills as optimized for delivering HD-quality video live, on-demand and via interactive applications--contacted [itvt] Wednesday to let us know about a new interactive TV initiative it is powering, in collaboration with Episodic, for premium programmer, Showtime Networks.

Showtime Networks has contacted [itvt] to let us know that it is seeking a student intern for its interactive TV department. According to the company, the intern--whose hiring is under the auspices of the Showtime Networks Summer Internship Program--will assist with the production, development and testing of its ITV initiatives, performing a range of tasks, including research, logging, wire framing, bug testing, writing, editing, photo manipulation and brainstorming. Required skills include Photoshop and Flash, creativity, and the ability to communicate. An understanding of Final Cut Pro and HTML would also be "a plus," according to the company.

A roundtable comprised of some of the most high-profile designers and
design experts in the interactive TV industry--Patrick Donoghue, SVP
of strategic product development at Cablevision; John Gilles, VP of
media and entertainment at Method; Terry Green, principal of
twenty2product; Dale Herigstad, chief creative officer at Schematic;
Stephanie Otto, CEO of Brainstorm Communications; David Preisman,
VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks; and Suzanne
Stefanac, director of the American Film Institute Digital Content
Lab--provide our listeners with an overview of the current state of the

A roundtable comprised of some of the most high-profile designers and
design experts in the interactive TV industry--Patrick Donoghue, SVP
of strategic product development at Cablevision; John Gilles, VP of
media and entertainment at Method; Terry Green, principal of
twenty2product; Dale Herigstad, chief creative officer at Schematic;
Stephanie Otto, CEO of Brainstorm Communications; David Preisman,
VP of interactive television at Showtime Networks; and Suzanne
Stefanac, director of the American Film Institute Digital Content
Lab--provide our listeners with an overview of the current state of the

--Signs IPTV Deals with Russia's Corbina, Taiwan's Chunghwa

Microsoft contacted [itvt] late last month to let us know that it has
released the beta version of its Microsoft Mediaroom Presentation
Framework to nearly 150 companies around the world, including
content providers and application developers, as well as operator
customers such as AT&T and BT. According to the company, the
Presentation Framework beta will allow service providers--either on
their own or with third parties--to quickly and cost-effectively build
and deploy rich-media IPTV services and applications that allow for
the "seamless blending" of a show's broadcast and Web elements.

In this recorded episode of [itvt]'s talk radio show, "The TV of Tomorrow
Show with Tracy Swedlow," a panel of high-profile interactive TV
experts--Patrick Donoghue, VP of interactive TV product management at
Time Warner Cable; industry analyst, Leslie Ellis (author of the column,

"Translation Please"); Bill Niemeyer, chief of analysis and research at
BlackArrow; David Preisman, VP of interactive television at Showtime
Networks; and Lori Schwartz, SVP and director of the Interpublic Emerging

--The Interactive TV Month in Review

In this recorded episode of [itvt]'s new talk radio show, "The TV of Tomorrow Show with Tracy Swedlow," Ashwin Navin, co-founder and president of peer-to-peer technology provider, BitTorrent, discusses that company's recently announced agreement with Comcast, which calls for them to work together to address infrastructural issues raised by the growing popularity of video and other rich media on the Internet.