ACTV , TCI Music's Box Video Channel Will Develop Internet-TV Content
06/03/1999
Dow Jones Business News
(Copyright (c) 1999, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- ACTV Inc. and TCI Music Inc.'s music-video channel The Box on Thursday announced that they will work together on programming that will integrate television and Internet content.
The new programming will integrate related Internet content with videos being shown on the TV. The service will use ACTV 's (IATV) HyperTV software, which enables the broadcast of targeted Internet content and chat simultaneously with a related TV program. HyperTV
embeds a stream of Web addresses and other interactive content into the video signal, and/or streams them over the Internet directly to a user's computer.
The Box channel allows viewers to make requests from a menu of up to 200 videos via phone or electronic mail. TCI Music (TUNE), controlled by cable mogul John Malone, recently agreed to give The Box to Viacom Inc.'s much-larger video channel MTV as part of a broad Internet alliance.
With HyperTV, The Box will be able to target advertising and electronic-commerce offers directly at consumers based on what videos they are watching. The Box also will become even more interactive with the addition of online chat and Web surfing. For example, viewers will be able to call up related song lyrics, band biographies, features and interactive trivia questions.
The convergence of TV and the Internet is becoming a hot topic among technology companies such as Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and AT&T Corp., which now owns Malone's TCI cable business. Internet media companies such as America Online Inc. and Yahoo! Inc. also are paying close attention.
Two weeks ago, TCI Music said it would acquire a 10% stake in MTV Networks' online ventures. In return, MTV will acquire The Box and TCI Music's SonicNet Internet music-programming unit.
TCI Music is managed by Liberty Media Corp. (LMGA, LMGB), a separate "tracking" stock of AT&T that maintains almost complete autonomy under Malone within the long-distance company. In April, Liberty announced plans to consolidate its Internet holdings with TCI Music and change the unit's name to Liberty Digital.
Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. |
