Predictive Networks seeks guide patent

Cable World, Feb 25, 2002

Predictive Networks last week filed provisional patent applications for technology underlying the SmartNavigator, its TV navigation and recommendation system.

SmartNavigator is designed to work with any existing TV programming guide or as a stand-alone system, the company says. Cable and digital satellite operators can integrate SmartNavigator into their services, breaking out of the "what's-on-when" grid and intelligently guiding viewers to programs, based on individual viewing behavior.

The technology can become an enhanced feature of any interactive programming guide and works with or without middleware and on low- and high-end set-top boxes, according to Predictive Networks.

The company says a smarter navigator is needed because with hundreds of TV channels and scheduled programs to choose from, as well as new offerings such as PVR-recorded shows, pay-per-view and, soon, video-on-demand, TV viewers overwhelmed by entertainment options. Viewer dissatisfaction with time- and channel-based grid listings is causing costly churn rates for operators, while programmers and advertisers are unable to effectively target dispersed audiences.

"With SmartNavigator, our goal is to offer the complete picture in smart TV navigation," said Devin Hosea, Predictive Networks founder and president, in a statement. "By combining next-generation user interfaces and utilities with platform-independence, audience guidance and recommendations, as well as privacy protection, we're making television watching easy again."

Predictive Networks sells its product directly and through key partners, such as OpenTV and Microsoft.