Interactive tv story. What I like is the fact that Actv seems to be in a niche all by itself.
'Everybody's jumping around at the starting post, and any minute somebody's going to bolt.'
- JAN STEENKAMP
OpenTV ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿON THE FACE of it, the announcement by Microsoft nemesis Network Computer Inc. (a unit of Oracle) at the Western Cable Show this week sounded like a major coup: Scientific-Atlanta, one of the nation's two major makers of cable set-top boxes, will try to incorporate NCI software into a new digital box model that's intended for distribution to millions of households.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿBut the notion that something monumental is afoot quickly fades upon inspection. A brief stroll around Scientific-Atlanta's sprawling display at the Anaheim Convention Center reveals that NCI already has lots of company inside Scientific-Atlanta boxes. While Microsoft's WebTV service isn't contained in any of them, virtually every other Internet-TV rival is: WorldGate, the Interactive Channel, Wink . in short, several of the industry's usual suspects. (Microsoft is a partner with NBC in MSNBC.)
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ(For a detailed chart describing the main players in the interactive TV field, click here.)
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿCable operators, eager to fend off satellite rivals and to find new sources of revenue, are gearing up to offer greatly enhanced services. The expanded menu will include not just more channels, but also interactive services like e-mail, Internet access and interactive-television features that blend video and data in brand-new ways. But first, cable companies have to beef up their network infrastructure and, in many cases, install new digital models of the set-top boxes that sit atop most cable subscribers' TVs.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
TOO MANY CHOICES
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ 1-800-Flowers@Tower: CDs/VideosSkyMallGetTOYS.comEddie BauerThe Sharper ImageBarnes & Noble books
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAs the crowded field of set-top box service providers illustrates, the TV industry hasn't yet decided how to accomplish the interactivity that it has heralded for so long. While much of the floor space in Anaheim has been devoted to interactive-TV service displays, and many of the show's announcements have heralded "groundbreaking" interactive-service deals, cable operators have yet to make any sweeping commitments to any one technology.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿSignificantly, for perhaps the first time in the painful evolution of interactive television, technology isn't the issue. A wide range of interactive services - Web browsing, e-mail, integrated TV-Internet broadcasting capabilities - is offered by literally dozens of companies now, and the costs to cable operators are low enough to make them feasible.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThe formulas vary, with some companies transforming set-top cable boxes into stripped down computers, and others providing interactive content through big servers at the cable operator's "head-end," or transmission facilities. Most of the data is sent into homes through the cable and back to the service provider via either two-way cable or phone lines. Revenue models vary widely as well, though most offerings require commitments by cable operators of between $50 and $300 per customer - a range that can be amortized in one to three years if all goes according to plan. The Interactive Channel is one of many interactive-TV services vying for the attention of both customers and cable companies.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿBut as the Western show wraps up Friday, it's unclear which, if any, of these formulas has a marked advantage. It's also not clear when the country's major cable operators will start making e-mail and other interactive services part of their standard customer menus.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"Everybody's jumping around at the starting post, and any minute somebody's going to bolt," says Jan Steenkamp, chief executive officer of OpenTV, a system backed by Sun Microsystems and Thomson Consumer Electronics that allows for text and data "overlays" on top of a channel's video picture.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿBut most industry executives and analysts believe cable companies' commitment to the new business won't be nearly so impulsive. Far more likely than any stampede, they say, will be a series of preliminaries - tests pitting one service against another in small trials that lead to larger commitments one to two years from now. The WorldGate system includes a range of typical online services such as e-mail and Web surfing.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿSuch a scenario is amply in evidence already. WorldGate, for instance, a Pennsylvania venture backed by NextLevel, Scientific-Atlanta and Motorola, last month announced an agreement by Charter Communications to offer its online service to some of the 1.8 million households it covers. The pact, made public last month, gave WorldGate an important vote of confidence. But Charter executives, in interviews, say they're exploring other interactive services as well. The company, for example, also has made a similar commitment to Wink Communications. Additional agreements may follow.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ "I'm looking at other services now," says Michael DeNatale, vice president for corporate development at Charter. "We're constantly evaluating the technologies out there and evaluating the services."
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ Comcast provides another case in point. While the top-tier cable provider formed a billion-dollar alliance with Microsoft earlier this year, it continues to experiment with a wide range of interactive-service systems other than Microsoft's WebTV. It's currently conducting a test of WorldGate, for instance.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ Why are cable companies moving so cautiously?
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ Money is one reason. Operators are only now rolling out cable modems for high-speed Internet access to the home. While these services get most of the marketing attention and capital spending, there's limited room on the companies' dockets for enhanced-television services.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ Another reason: fear of overcommitment. Or as one set-top box developer put it, "No one wants to build the Betamax," referring to the home-video format that unexpectedly lost out to the VHS format found in today's VCRs.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ "There are too many different flavors of enhanced cable set tops," says Sean Kaldor, an analyst with Dataquest. "This could go in many different directions."
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿNameOwnershipServiceCostWorldGatePrivately held. Investors include Motorola, Scientific-Atlanta, NextLevel.Web access, e-mail, "hyperlinking" feature that enables toggling between TV and Web programming.Varies. WorldGate suggests cable operators charge $4.95 a month. WebTV ClassicMicrosoft subsidiary.Internet access, e-mail.$99 with rebate. Sold directly to consumers at retail.WebTV PlusMicrosoft subsidiary.Internet access, picture-in-picture, interactive-TV features allow display of data alongside video.$300. Sold directly to consumers at retail.Interactive ChannelSubsidiary of publicly held Source Media.Web access, e-mail, localized Internet content, games. Variable. Likely to be packaged with premium cable programming.OpenTVPrivately held. Investors include Sun and Thomson.E-mail, data services such as sports statistics overlayed atop video display.Undetermined. Likely to be packaged with premium cable.Wink CommunicationsPrivately held. Investors include Scientific-Atlanta, NextLevel, GE Capital and Toshiba.Displays a limited amount of data along with video picture.Undetermined.ICTVPrivately held. Investors include Cox Communications.E-mail, Web browsing, CD-ROM games, DVD video on demand.Suggested price of $9.95 a month for first five hours of service.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ
Worldgate
WebTV
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿÿ ÿÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ Cover | Summary | News | Commerce | Sports | Local News | Technology | Living | On Air | Opinions
Weather | Find | About MSNBC | Help | Personal Toolkit | Feedback | Index | Advertising on MSNBCÿ ÿ |
