Is This the Year for Interactive TV? [NewTeeVee]
NewTeeVee is declaring 2009 the year interactive television finally becomes widespread reality. And it's largely due to the cable industry's tru2way technology. Market research firm estimates that by the end of 2009, 55 million households will have interactive TV and 75 million will have it by the end of 2010. That may be an optimistic expectation for this year, but I agree that interactive TV is on the way.
A few basic applications have been available to satellite customers but in order for interactive TV to really take off, the cable standard must be developed. Satellite is not a real two-way platform because it requires another connection for the return path. Besides, nearly 2/3 of Americans watch television on a cable connection making them a critical audience in order to achieve mass distribution.
ESPN plans to roll out several interactive features in June of this year that will be accessible to tru2way cable households. ESPN's MyVote will allow viewers to vote in live polling - similar to the SportsNation web polls that ESPN currently uses, but you won't have to leave your television to vote on your computer. It will all happen live from your tru2way television. In Game Extra will provide live game and player statistics right on your television screen. ESPN's My Bottom Line application will allow users to customize the scores that display at the bottom of the screen.
Interactive television is set to reach a critical mass this year, with more and more cable operators rolling out tru2way technology on their systems and more tru2way ready televisions appearing on store shelves. ESPN's applications will be some of the pioneers in this new space, and I'm already thinking about the teams and leauges I'm going to be adding to the My Bottom Line application.
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