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Technology Stocks : IATV-ACTV Digital Convergence Software-HyperTV -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: art slott who wrote (6071)	8/13/1999 12:29:00 PM
From: Steve Hausser	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 13157

I hope that ACTV cleans up their PR act. Let's hope the next time we have news it winds up in the Journal and NOBODY forgets that we are part of the upcoming "gold rush". I'd love to see us on CNBC but the print media would be a start. Wink and the others always seem to find a way. ______________________________________________________________________ Interactive TV to Generate $20 Bln in Five Years, Study Says Cambridge, Massachusetts, Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Interactive television will generate $20 billion annually by the year 2004 as more viewers tune in to programming guides, e-commerce and Internet access on their TVs, a new study says. Forrester Research Inc. predicts that an ''interactive commerce gold rush'' will flash across TV screens, generating revenue from advertising, electronic shopping and speedy Internet connections. The Forrester report says advertising through interactive TV will rival the Internet in three years. Cable and satellite-TV companies are rushing to change the passive nature of television viewing by introducing on-screen guides that, with the click of a button, provide more program information, set reminders and search TV listings. The companies also are upgrading their technology to offer Internet connections that are as much as 100 times faster than dial-up phone access, as well as programming and commercials linked to data such as sports statistics or retail order forms. ''Interactive television will turn the media industry inside out, with EPGs (electronic program guides) touching more Americans than any other media property,'' said Forrester analyst Josh Bernoff, who wrote the report. ''As interactive TV sweeps across the consumer landscape, it will pull advertising dollars away from existing media, including television and the Web.'' Companies such as AT&T Corp., soon to be the largest U.S. cable operator, and Hughes Electronics Corp.'s DirecTV Inc., the No. 1 satellite-TV company, will be among the biggest beneficiaries, Bernoff said. Companies providing programming guides such as Gemstar International Group Ltd. or TV Guide Inc. also stand to gain, along with others providing the enhanced technology, including Wink Communications Inc., Liberate Technologies Inc., OpenTV Inc. and Microsoft Corp.'s WebTV Networks Inc. Guide Revenue Forrester said electronic program guides will generate $3.2 billion in advertising and $1.1 billion in merchandise sales in 2004. The guides will be available to 25 million homes by the end of the year and 55 million in five years, Bernoff said. ''The opportunity to advertise is too good to pass up,'' he noted. ''You'll be able to make a few media buys and hit 50 million people in a few years.'' Enhanced broadcasts will be developed to build loyalty among consumers who want more information about a celebrity or request a free sample from an advertiser, Forrester said. That will generate $6.2 billion in advertising sales and $3.8 billion in merchandise sales. Internet access will contribute another $5 billion in subscription fees and commerce. Aug/04/1999 18:47 For more stories from Bloomberg News, click here.