DirecTV Japan goes interactive. A little Divi here????????????????
biz.yahoo.com
Tuesday September 1, 6:06 am Eastern Time
DirecTV to launch interactive TV service in Japan
TOKYO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Japanese direct-to-home television broadcaster DirecTV said on Tuesday it would launch on-demand information service for TV viewers, the latest in its efforts against rival SkyPerfecTV.
DirecTV, partly owned by Hughes Electronics Corp said its ''Interactive TV'' service would enable viewers to call up on demand a variety of additional information transmitted simultaneously with video.
''Through the new channels in our unique service, I am confident that Japanese consumers will find DirecTV an attractive and value-added TV service,'' DirecTV Japan chairman Larry D. Hunter told a news conference.
Hunter, a multi-channel TV service expert, was sent by parent Hughes last month to reinforce the Japanese management and jump-start the struggling service.
DirecTV, launched last December, had 152,000 subscribers by the end of July.
Rival SkyPerfecTV, partly owned by media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, had 800,000 subscribers at the beginning of August.
SkyPerfecTV was formed in May through a merger between Murdoch's Sky Broadcasting and Japan's PerfecTV.
DirecTV president Muneaki Masuda said the company would launch its interactive service initially on five channels, and expand it eventually to all of its channels.
Users are not required to buy special receivers, he said.
DirecTV will launch the first service in its boat racing programme in October. The channel will enable viewers to call up on the TV screen detailed information about the race, such as entry charts, odds, dividends and race predictions, by clicking on screen icons, he said.
Interactive channels on horse racing, weather news and other subjects will start later this year, he said.
Next spring, DirecTV plans to introduce a system that will allow viewers to place bets on horse racing directly through their receivers, Masuda said.
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