Chaz,
Newbie Leslie reporting in for duty, Sir. <gg>
Great idea, Chaz. As Mike B. knows, I've taken on a personal mission to have my area of expertise be the Interactive Television GGame. I am in the R&D phase of this project now.
In the category of there are many more that perhaps deserve a look-see, but won't get it because there aren't enough of us. I volunteer to report on IATV (Activision, Inc.), a company I think can be a contender in the Interactive Television space. Though due to work and travel constraints, I cannot promise my report will be in before the end of January. I am in the process of determining how they compare/contrast to GMST. I've seen their stuff demo'd and it's pretty amazing. Their main products are Individualized Television and HyperTV.
There is a secondary in the works now for later this month. IB's are Bear Stearns, CSFB, SalomonSmithBarney and Lehman.
some of their partners:
- Liberty Media Corporation, our largest shareholder and a co-venturer;
- General Instrument Corporation, a shareholder and a co-investor;
- Viewer's Choice, LLC, the nation's leading pay-per-view network;
- FOX Sports Net, the first national supplier of regional sports
programming; and
- The Box Music Network, part of Viacom's MTV Networks.
A snippet from their recent S-3. (if anyone would like a copy, please PM w/email address and I will send.)
INDIVIDUALIZED TELEVISION
Individualized Television is a patented process for creating interactive and
instantly customized television content and advertising in response to viewer
remote control entries or to stored demographic information. Individualized
Television remembers a viewer's inputs throughout a program and can later
deliver tailored content to the viewer based on those inputs. We create
individualized programming by simultaneously sending the viewer multiple
television signals, related in time and content, and switching among those
signals without a visually perceptible delay. With Individualized Television,
the viewer experiences the video, audio and graphics of a single fluid
programming stream, while the programming on the other signals remains
transparent. We expect Individualized Television to generate revenues from
subscriber fees, advertising sales and sales of software and services related to
targeted advertising.
We believe that Individualized Television is a core breakthrough for
television programming and advertising. For example
- the viewer of a national or international pay-per-view sporting event or
of a regional sports telecast can select from features such as a different
view of the action, highlight packages, statistics or instant replays;
- a car commercial can ask viewers to identify the models that most interest
them and, based upon their answers, provide individualized information
about the identified models;
- neighbors watching the same television program can see entirely different
advertisements based upon demographic information stored in their
respective set-top boxes; and
- a child viewing a program can engage a favorite television character in
what seems to be a
one-on-one dialogue.
We are initially targeting Individualized Television, which is
software-based, for distribution through digital cable systems. To receive
Individualized Television, all the cable subscriber needs is a digital set-top
box with our software download. We have agreements with leading manufacturers of
digital set-top terminals--General Instrument, Scientific-Atlanta and
Pioneer--to achieve compatibility of our software with their equipment.
****
So I am on the case on this one. Who knows where they'll fit in the G&K Kingdom or if they'll fit in at all? I am not ready to present their case yet, just taking the assignment.
My best,
Leslie |
