Gateway to Interactive TV

According to a recent Yankee Group report, 'TV Portals: Opening the Door to Interactive Television', interactive TV interface offering local content will reduce digital churn and facilitate the launch of future ITV applications.

The study predicts that TV portals offering local content such as news, weather, local listings of movies and restaurants, and event information will play a critical role in helping multichannel video operators retain digital subscribers. Similar to online portals, a TV portal is an interactive screen that leads viewers to interactive content and applications offered by the cable or satellite operator.

According to Adi Kishore, analyst with the Yankee Group's Media & Entertainment Strategies practice, 'Early deployments of TV portals suggest that they can reduce digital churn. The portal also offers a consistent and familiar interface for viewers, allowing operators to introduce new interactive TV applications in the future, while minimizing viewer confusion.'

Other findings from the report include:

• TV portals will help tie together multiple ITV applications as the network operator rolls them out, as it is believed that new applications will be adopted more easily by subscribers via a familiar interface.
  
• Network operators should avoid absorbing developmental costs for TV portals. The additional resources spent on developing a unique, customized solution will not be worth the returns. Network operators will be better served by using the vendors in the market that have prefabricated, but flexible, solutions.
  
• While Insight and Cablevision have already rolled out TV portals on their digital tier, broad deployments across cable operators are unlikely for the next year.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.

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