I wish we would get this kind of coverage. Having said that, Wink is no threat to ACTV. I know that there are many on this thread that articulate why this is so. I also realize that no matter how well it is explained, there will be many who will use this to scare the hell out of as many people as possible. I'm headed to the shore. See ya next week.
Microsoft Invests $30 Million
In Wink Communications Deal
By DON CLARK
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Microsoft Corp. is investing $30 million in Wink Communications Inc., a move the software giant hopes will boost its role in interactive television and advertising.
The deal gives Microsoft a stake of almost 10% in Wink, a closely held company in Alameda, Calif. Wink has been marketing interactive TV services that work over conventional analog cable lines. Under a joint development and marketing agreement, Microsoft will blend Wink's technology with future versions of Microsoft's WebTV, a rival offering that offers a form of interactive TV based on a telephone connection to the Internet.
Company Profile: Microsoft
Both companies have been trying to make it easier for TV watchers to call up more information about programs, such as sports statistics, and for advertisers to get instant consumer responses to on-air promotions. But the market has moved slowly, in part because of incompatible formats for adding interactivity to conventional programming.
Under the new deal, Microsoft and Wink are stepping up support for a new standard format for interactive features, known by the acronym ATVEF, that can take the place of their proprietary technologies. Their combined support for this standard should encourage more advertisers and broadcasters to develop interactive offerings, the companies said.
"This will make it easier to get momentum and avoid standards battles that make people wait and see," said Hank Vigil, Microsoft's vice president of consumer strategy and platforms.
Microsoft has been sparing no expense in trying to move beyond its stronghold in personal-computer software. Among other things, it has agreed to invest $5 billion in AT&T Corp., which agreed to use Microsoft software as part of efforts to bring new Internet services to homes over upgraded cable lines.
Wink predates the takeoff of the Web. The company, founded in 1994, was formed to bring interactivity without changes to most of the cable TV infrastructure. It provides software to broadcasters and advertisers that allows them to overlay text and simple graphics on TV signals to about 10 million U.S. homes that have an advanced cable decoder and remote control. Users can respond to on-screen messages with their remote control, using the same basic technology consumers use to order pay-per-view movies.
Such analog services are expected to fade with the move to digital technologies. But Wink, with about 150,000 customers, has a more lasting asset in a nationwide network that allows cable operators to precisely track consumers' responses to ads and shows, said Maggie Wilderotter, its chief executive officer.
Wink, which doesn't charge consumers, gets revenue from advertisers based on the qualified sales leads they get from the cable networks. In the future, for example, WebTV is likely to use Wink to provide a similar service, and without requiring users to log on to the Internet, Mr. Vigil said.
Wink, originally bankrolled by the venture capitalists Benchmark Capital, has raised $50 million privately. It pulled plans for an initial stock offering last year. But the Microsoft deal, as well as a recent investment by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, are expected to allow the company to try again soon to go public.
Josh Bernoff, an analyst with the technology consulting firm Forrester Research Inc., said Wink's relationships with many cable operators will help Microsoft, which has been seen as a threat by some of those companies. "You've taken the two most promising interactive TV systems and combined the strengths of each one," Mr. Bernoff said. "In my mind this is the beginning of a rapid rampup of interactive TV."
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