HONGKONG TELECOM'S ITV FIGHTS RECESSION, APATHY: BROADBAND SERVICE LINKS TO MICROSOFT'S WINDOWS.

Advertising Age, March, 1999 by Madden, Normandy

Hongkong telecom celebrated the first anniversary of its interactive TV on March 28, but the world's first broadband interactive service has not had an easy first year.

The iTV platform reaches just more than 70% of the territory's 1.6 million households, offering video music and racing on demand; a home banking service for Bank of China consumers; and even interactive karaoke to Hong Kong's gadget-crazy and relatively affluent population.

But growth has not met expectations, largely due to viewer apathy.

Hongkong Telecom predicted it would have 250,000 subscribers by the end of its first year, but only 110,000 households have signed up to date. On average, they spend only $39 per month on pay-per-view services, far less than the $50...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Premium Content Partnership | HighBeam Research provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.