For a country that resisted the adoption of television so vehemently in the 1970s, SA has certainly surged ahead in the technological aspects of the "tube". Multichoice`s introduction of its interactive television offering last month heralded the next step in television`s evolution - interactive TV.
Interactive television (iTV) is not a new concept - even in SA. Tele-text has featured marginal interactivity for years, while DSTV has offered interactivity for some time now, providing the interactivity relied on one-way transmissions only. However, the most advanced iTV applications are to be found in South African hotels.
A platform called Guestlink, distributed locally by Tomorrow`s Technology Solutions (TTS), is based on Windows 2000 Professional and offers Internet browser access, e-mail, pay-per-view and scheduled movies, a calendar of hotel events and hotel information.
"The value it adds to guests is unlimited," says Sam Danon, CEO of TTS. "The guests love us and the hotel management loves us because it improves the experience." Guestlink has an install-base of 5 000 hotel rooms, including 1 300 in Sun City.
Commenting on Multichoice`s offering, Danon says: "What Multichoice does is limited iTV based on technical limitations. Their decoder has limited technical capacity - it`s not a full computer. Their software is not Microsoft. If you are not running on Microsoft today, you`re out of the game. It makes sense for them as M-Web is owned by DSTV, and they are looking for more income streams. But it`s not true iTV.
"Interactive TV is the future of the world - it`s an extension of the Internet," continues Danon. "Look at what DSTV is doing. It`s limited, but Windows 3.1 was also limited. In two to three years they will go to the next level. We`re 10 years ahead of them, but our limitation is that we`re only a hotel platform."
Talking about the weather
DSTV`s offering consists of its decoder for downstream communication, and a separate keyboard and modem for upstream data. This allows it to offer a variety of services, including e-mail and e-commerce purchasing (dubbed t-mail and t-commerce, respectively), as well as other applications, such as a choice of different camera angles for Big Brother and interactive menus for the SuperSport channels.
"iTV allows a number of additional services that make the viewing experience more exciting and enjoyable, allowing us to satisfy many more subscriber needs. The launch also positions us to take advantage of future developments in the media arena," says Nolo Letele, CEO of Multichoice Africa.
Multichoice had the benefit of its relationship with cousin-companies M-Web and OpenTV (recently sold by Multichoice owner MIH) in which to develop its iTV offering. M-Web provides the Internet network for the system, as well as much of the content. Its online mall is the source for t-commerce vendors, while t-mail runs off of M-Web`s existing e-mail system. M-Web`s hosting and development of the SuperSport and Big Brother site also add to the package, with Web content available for television viewers.
The company first dipped its feet in the enhanced TV pool between 1997 and last year, introducing gaming applications and an enhanced electronic programming guide over that period. Applications like the enhanced weather channel and horoscopes proved popular with viewers, although Letele is cautious about getting too interactive.
"Our strategy in a nutshell is to provide rich and compelling content and experiences for the viewer, and provide contextual content and services for the viewer. The idea is to enhance, not distract, from TV viewing," says Letele. "We don`t want to scare people away - we trickle-feed our products for people to get comfortable with them before rolling out more."
OpenTV helped develop the software for the decoder, although the company never seemed to get its head above water as R&D led adoption by a significant period.
Speed kills
Economically running development ahead of the adoption rate has caused many an iTV provider to trip and fall, while staunch competition in some markets stunted the success of some of the platforms. Britain`s ITV Digital, owned by Granada and Carlton, was one of those hard-luck cases. Meant to compete with Rupert Murdoch`s BskyB, ITV managed to rack up a lb800 million bill before Granada and Carlton pulled the plug.
Interactive TV is the future of the world - it`s an extension of the Internet.
Sam Danon, CEO, TTS
The debacle was seen as a drawback for the UK`s aggressive digital TV strategy, which will see all television broadcasts in the UK running on digital by 2007. Digital TV and iTV go together like a horse and carriage, and with its deregulated telecoms market and bad weather, the UK is expected to be a leader in iTV.
By contrast, the US seems to be struggling with iTV. Not to be outdone by the Brits, the all-powerful Federal Communications Commission has set US television manufacturers the task of including digital tuners in all products in the next five years, but a problem still revolves around standards, with no one in the US quite agreeing on how iTV is to be delivered. Although the US has the advantage of broadband and cable, its confusion over standards almost halted progression. It is now favouring Europe`s Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) specification, built on Sun`s Java, as the preferred middleware platform, after a bit of a tussle with the OpenCable standard. OpenCable and MHP are now on track to integrate.
What Multichoice does is limited iTV based on technical limitations. Their decoder has limited technical capacity - it`s not a full computer.
Sam Danon, CEO, TTS
"A growing number of US iTV players have privately expressed to this reporter in the past year their growing exasperation over the ongoing lack of any middleware standard in America," says US iTV market commentator Ken Freed. "Historically, the US cable industry tacitly decided to follow the Microsoft Windows model of standard-setting: rule the market, then set the market rules. No one middleware vendor has been able to gain an upper hand in the US, but not for lack of trying, and the situation has grown untenable with satellite making strong market advances against cable in signing up new digital subscribers."
Apart from a lack of interactivity, and software developers always aiming for a moving target, the lack of standards has led to high set-top box prices. "The biggest hurdle is bringing down the cost of the advanced boxes themselves," says Don Dulchinos, VP of advanced platforms and services at CableLabs, a supporter of the OpenCable standard.
Monopolist`s dream
Such standards fights and competition in the market aren`t currently a problem for Multichoice. As the first and only to market with consumer iTV, it holds a monopoly. It sets the standards, and competition is sorely lacking.
The biggest hurdle is bringing down the cost of the advanced boxes.
Don Dulchinos, VP, CableLabs
But not for long. Local telecoms player Sentech is planning a move into the iTV market. Its Vivid technology already affords its some stake to the claim of iTV provider, and the alliance with InfoSat and Digitalmall.com offers the possibility of a feedback loop and content, giving it the option of providing services that will compete directly with Multichoice.
Vivid currently claims around 35 000 subscribers, predominantly in rural areas, and armed with its new multimedia licence, it should have little regulatory trouble. It will, however, have to compete with the DSTV and Multichoice brand and install-base, reminiscent of BSkyB vs ITV Digital. Vivid currently services a different clientele to M-Web`s predominantly white, suburban, dog and 2.5 kids market, so if it plans on competing for DSTV`s space, it will have to change its focus drastically.
What to expect
iTV is already showing signs of success in SA, with between 4 000 and 5 000 of DSTV`s interactive kits sold to the market over a period of six weeks. However, applications are still limited, e-commerce providers haven`t committed a great deal of product to their online catalogues, and a few hiccoughs are being ironed out.
The idea is to enhance, not distract, from TV viewing.
Nolo Letele, CEO, Multichoice Africa
Multichoice concedes that the lack of a caps-lock indicator on its wireless keyboard has caused confusion, while its Mr Delivery address recognition has also proved faulty, primarily because Mr Delivery`s database of postal codes seems to be incorrect.
Despite these problems, the future of iTV seems bright. The "killer app" still hasn`t been discovered - some say it will be t-mail, while others are punting sports-watching enhancements. Richard Fyffe, GM of Multichoice Africa`s iTV division, believes interactive SMS over the TV will do the trick. Meanwhile, Big Brother 2 and SuperSport are proving the most popular for interactive adoption.
Multichoice expects to roll-out more features for Christmas, and hopes that its shopping partners will come to the party with a greater variety of product in time for the shopping season. Other applications to expect include a Cartoon Network gaming system, using the Cartoon Network characters, and TV banking early next year. There is also discussion around more voting applications, and possibly a betting system. The company is also in early-stage talks regarding searchable recipes for the cooking channel.
However, those expecting to surf the Web through their DSTV decoders anytime soon should not hold their breath. DSTV is not planning to build a browser into its decoders anytime soon, citing poor visual quality and the invasive quality of browsing as reasons.
To make the interactivity even less of a distraction, we can expect "squeeze-back" technology to be used to make the picture smaller, while providing the interactive element around the frame.
The potential of iTV is, quite literally, only limited by the imagination of the folks at companies like Multichoice and Sentech. Initial roll-outs will test the market`s desires, and future applications will no doubt depend on what captures the viewer`s imagination.
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