Interactive TV Community Convenes to Address the Future of Interactive Television in the U.S. at OpenTV's Developer Conference

Business Wire, Sept 28, 2000

Business Editors & Entertainment Writers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 2000

Leading Interactive Television and Media Solutions Company

Hosts its Second and Largest Independent Developer Conference

Today, the interactive television (ITV) community rallied to strategize and promote the deployment of ITV in the United States during OpenTV's OpenRoads Developer Conference hosted by OpenAdvantage, OpenTV's independent developer program.

Industry Analyst Jack Myers proclaimed a rousing "call to action" to the advertising, broadcasting, cable and financial communities, advocating immediate and aggressive support of ITV to further enhance existing broadcast and distribution models.

OpenAdvantage, a division of OpenTV (NASDAQ:OPTV)(AEX:OPTV), the world's leading interactive television and media solutions company, has grown to include more than 600 content developers in more than 35 countries and has aligned itself with premier content providers to propel the deployment of ITV in the U.S. At the conference, OpenAdvantage members including MTV, Mixed Signals Technologies and TWIN Entertainment discussed their challenges and solutions to their businesses' involvement in the ITV industry.

"Companies like OpenTV and their partners here today are doing great things to advance ITV in the U.S., but we won't see ITV further develop until the advertising, financial, cable and broadcasting communities increase their involvement and support to ITV providers and developers," said Myers. "Our projections show substantial revenue potential in ITV e-commerce, advertising and subscription and we think these industries should take a closer look at the financial opportunities that are at stake."

The Myers Report, which was released during the OpenRoads Developer Conference, estimates the following ITV industry-wide revenues in 2006:

Revenues         1999             Estimated in 2006
---------------- ---------------  -----------------------------------
Advertising      $94 million      $11.5 billion
e-commerce       $168 million     $13.4 billion
Subscription     $403 million     $7.2 billion
Aggregate        $665 million     $32.1 billion

"We're confident with these figures because we're estimating that Generation 'N', the Internet generation, will really be the first market to embrace ITV," said Myers. "Convergence of the Internet and television is inevitable and it's being advanced right now through many companies including OpenTV."

"Interactive television is all about delivering compelling interactive experiences to consumers, and OpenTV is proud to provide the tools and resources that make this happen everyday around the world," said James Ackerman, president and COO. "We believe that our OpenAdvantage community of more than 600 independent developers will be a driving force behind the mass deployment of interactive services to all types of digital devices."

OpenTV's conference brought new companies to the ITV arena like MTV and HBO, who have been researching options emerging in the ITV marketplace. During their presentation, Tony Dunaif, vice president, business development for MTV and Bob Zitter, senior vice president, technology operations for HBO, focused on the prerequisites that ITV developers need to consider for a successful business, and explained that programmers require developers' support and creativity to ensure that interactive television applications have real viewer benefits.

"We're excited to be here with OpenTV and OpenAdvantage at this much-needed conference because it fosters a better understanding and communication between programmers and application developers," said Dunaif. "It is important for MTV to contribute to the developing, interactive television industry."

Mixed Signals Technologies (MST) demonstrated how together with OpenTV they are developing revenue opportunities for their customers and partners while delivering creative and unique user experiences. MST's Jody Stark, senior vice president of business development and Alex Stevens, vice president of production discussed current and upcoming ITV projects such as Pearson TV's interactive versions of "Family Feud" and "To Tell the Truth."

"Being part of OpenTV's OpenAdvantage program not only reinforces the longstanding partnership between Mixed Signals Interactive and OpenTV, but also shows our commitment to work with the industry's most forward thinking developers," said Stark. "Together, our shared knowledge and experience will in our view accelerate the growth and distribution of interactive content worldwide."

Robert Regan, president and COO along with Alex Davidson, CTO of TWIN Entertainment, demonstrated their interactive and engaging game applications, developed on the OpenTV platform. TWIN Entertainment's programming consists of on-demand games and activities (i.e. stand alone games), scheduled events (i.e. TV game shows) and "live" events (award shows, sporting events), which were all showcased during the session.

"Our established relationship with OpenTV allows us to bring TWIN Entertainment's technology to the U.S. market," said Regan. "Interactive gaming and sports is a real and tangible example of ITV, and we believe that the cooperation between everyone here at OpenRoads may ensure the proliferation of engaging, interactive television programming to the public."