5 Current Market
The market has moved on since the Scottish Executive applied their trial. This section reviews the current market size and growth patterns for each of the UK digital broadcasting platforms. Importantly it identifies the significance of Freeview DTT leading new growth and the need to do more to address key elderly and ethnic groups. Following the Secretary of State Tessa Jowell's announcement on 15 th September 2005, the UK Switchover programme is confirmed and this section gives details of the plan and also on its implementation by "Digital UK" (formerly Switchco). Importantly, the section also covers current DiTV factors that as with the Scottish Executive continue to impact development of the medium.
EU drives for open standards and potential new technologies are also covered but as yet may fail to deflect current industry trends as the UK continues to lead the World in DTV and carries large legacy bases.
5.1 Digital Television Penetration
According to latest OFCOM statistics and operators results, By 30 June 2005 digital TV penetration was estimated to have reached 15.7m or 63.0% of UK households, up from 61.9% at 31 March 2005. The number of digital television households grew by almost 298,000 during the quarter, increasing digital penetration by 1.1% points.
Take up of DTV by homes each month is around 250,000 which equates to more than the whole of a city the size of Sheffield.
This high take up has to be measured against the number of TV reception and recording devices in homes. Within the 63%, many homes only have Digital on their main TV and VCR but still have an average 2 or 3 more devices in the home that will need to be converted or replaced prior to Switchover. Industry analysis indicates there is a base of between 75 and 100 million devices to still be addressed.
Having said that, evidence exists that consumers are now adding digital to other TVs in their homes - typically via set top boxes bought as presents for children or parents. According to their latest Quarterly Digital Uptake Report for Q2 2005, OFCOM suggests that 29.6% of Freeview box sales purchased in the previous quarter were to convert second TV sets in the same household. This equates to a total of 2.25 million Freeview boxes being used on secondary sets by viewers who already have digital (either Freeview or Sky or cable) on their main set. This figure shows an increase on Q1, when 25% of DTT sets was estimated to be used on second sets.
At the end of June 2005, 2.8% of households were still subscribing to analogue cable, bringing the total receiving some form of multi-channel television to just over 65.8%. Subject to how NTL and Telewest merger discussions and networks development progress - these homes are expected to migrate to a digital alternative quickly.
Based on the above, some 8-9 million homes have yet to move to digital. Many of these will home elderly and those from lower socio demographic profiles. These represent the most significant base of people that draw on local authority and other agencies resources.
5.2 OFCOM Switchover Plans
OFCOM aim for DTT coverage to reach 98.5% of the population by the time of the switch-off, the same proportion that is currently reached by the analogue service. Currently only 76% of households receive DTV. The switchover is planned to start in the Scottish Borders in 2008 and will continue region-by-region until reaching the south-east in 2012.
The 98.5% figure falls just short of the Government's 1999 target of 99.5% for digital reception and will mean that around 375,000 (1.5%) of the population (mostly in the Welsh valleys and Scottish highlands) will continue to find that their screens will be permanently fuzzy after the switchover. Ofcom is currently researching what could be done with these viewers. Options might include deployment of Freesat, or fixed/wireless broadband developments. Ofcom's report also lays out plans to boost the power of the signal allowing broadcasters to squeeze more space out of the spectrum and increasing possibilities for high-definition broadcasts, further local channels or interactive elements for radio or television.
Ofcom says that there are advantages in adopting the "64 QAM" transmission mode. This potentially allows more channels, at the expense of being less robust to noise.
When Freeview was launched, the BBC and Crown Castle multiplexes switched their signals to "16 QAM" to provide a more robust signal at the comparatively low power levels used. At the time this was seen as essential to the launch of Freeview, but the other commercial multiplexes continued to use 64 QAM and consequently could fit in more services, equivalent to two or three channels per multiplex.
To compensate for any change to 64 QAM, higher power levels may need to be used, and additional transmitters may be required on the south coast of England, which would need international clearance.
Another issue pondered and approved by Ofcom is a move from a transmission standard using 2,000 sub-carrier frequencies, known as 2K, to an alternative using 8,000, known as 8K. The later allows a single frequency network to be deployed and opens possibilities for mobile TV. However, it could be a problem for a small minority of current receivers, notably the original ITV Digital set-top boxes and certain integrated digital televisions that only support 2K.
The current plan is digital switchover to be complete sometime around the end of 2012 through a phased switchover region-by-region. Assuming OFCOM's initial timetable is signed off by the Secretary of State Tessa Jowell, the process will commence in the Scottish Borders in 2008 and end with the Channel Islands some four years later.
The full switchover timetable, subject to government confirmation, is shown in the table across.
5.3 Service Providers and Market Growth
5.3.1 Freeview
The weekly sales rate for Freeview DTT has been averaging between five and eight times that or BSkyB's satellite services and those for cable combined. According to OFCOM the free-to-view digital terrestrial service, was once again the largest contributor to growth in take-up.
OFCOM indicate that Freeview DTT had another strong quarter of growth with over 700,000 sales of Freeview set top boxes and iDTVs by the end of Q2. This exceeded the corresponding quarter for 2004, when 496,000 sales were added. This compares to BSkyB who increased subscriber numbers in the UK by 75,000 to reach 7,424,000 in the UK at the end of Q2 2005. The total number of subscribers to cable television also increased in the quarter to just over 3.3 million. Digital cable increased by over 57,000 in Q2 and now accounts for over 2.6 million of the total.
Freeview DTT growth is attributed largely to:
- The low cost of Freeview STB's. These are now retailing for as little as £29
- Heavy promotion by the BBC and latterly Channel for E4 services
- No subscription charges for the Freeview service that attracts more people through offering fewer but more relevant channels than Sky.
- Availability of integrated digital TVs ( IDTV) from around £349 available from many retailers to include such as Tescos and Woolworths.
- New Freeview based combination products - e.g.DVR's, DVD Recorders and LCD/Plasma screen sets with built in DTT tuners.
Unlike Sky+, all of the DTTPVRs benefits the user with a subscription free Electronic Program Guide ( EPG) for simple timed recording. However some use a proprietary data service from provider 4 TV who rent limited bandwidth on Freeview which restricts schedule updates to 3am in the morning.
The use of 4 TV raises issues that the Scottish Executive and other public sector bodies should consider when engaging in DiTV initiatives and these are highlighted later in the report.
In its 2005 forecasts, Opera the media negotiating division of OMD media claims that Freeview will be in more homes than Sky digital by the end of 2005 and will come to dominate the DTV market in years to come.
With free-to-air digital box sets available in the shops for as little as £30, Opera predicts a major shift in the order of supremacy, forecasting that Freeview will be in 10 million homes by the end of 2006 - five years ahead of Sky.
Although it describes Freeview's channel line-up as "not comparable in any way to the quality of Sky's offering", Opera's report claims that Freeview is currently outstripping Sky's sales by ten to one, mainly because of the appeal of the lower price of the service. Other, more conservative estimates from Sky rivals put the current figure at nearer 7 to one.
Sky's own sources have described the figures as "totally wrong". They claim that Opera's report is based on a "fundamental error" of comparing sales of Freeview boxes, with Sky subscriber uptake, driven by a range of different marketing channels.
Sky claims hundreds of thousands of Freeview boxes which feature in the report have been bought with the intention of being used in second rooms in UK homes, many of which also have Sky.
Other predictions of March 2004, made in Zenith Optimedia's UK Television Forecast 2007 add pressure on Sky. Zenith claim Freeview could outstrip Sky by 2007 when it expects the DTT service will be adopted by almost 10 million households, with Sky in 8.9 million UK homes and cable in just 3.5 million. The study also suggest 87% of households will have gone digital by 2008, leaving only a small minority of die-hard analogue viewers.
It adds that cable would continue to struggle, despite the prospect of a merger between Telewest and NTL. Zenith argues there is no compelling case for digital cable. A merger would cut the cost base, but it won't help the marketing of cable with people not caring who owns it.
By the end of 2007, Zenith expects 22.3 million out of a total of 25.6 million homes to be watching digital TV.
5.3.2 Top Up TV
February 2005 saw David Chance, who runs the "pay TV lite" service Top Up TV ( TUTV) predict DTT sales would top 8 million by the end of the next year.
TUTV offers Freeview customers an extra 10 channels for a monthly fee of £7.99 with the opportunity to "dip in and out" of the service as they wish and subject to one month's notice. The service requires Freeview DTT receivers that carry a TUTV smartcard interface or an alternative Common Interface module and card can be inserted into receivers such as the Netgem iPlayer STB or many IDTV sets. Channels it offers include popular UKTV services UKTV Gold and UKStyle. Alongside these are Discovery and Turner Classic Movies. Significantly all of these appeal to the older viewers. Recent important introductions include British Eurosport plus Setanta. Significantly this offers exclusive live coverage of Scottish Premier League Football.
David Chance who is also an ITV director and a former BSkyB deputy chief executive anticipates Freeview box sales in the calendar year will exceed 3 million units. He says that by December 2005, the Freeview platform could be as big as Sky
Industry sources indicate that TUTV has now collected around 160,000 customers in under a year, with the majority apparently staying with the £7.99 a month service. Top Up TV launched in April 2004 targeting 250,000 users within two years to break even.
5.3.3 BSkyB
BSkyB announced record profits for the 12 months to 30 June 2005, with profits after tax up 32%, to £425 million on turnover of £4.048 billion. By the end of June it had 7.8 million direct-to-home ( DTH) subscribers, adding 83,000 in the final quarter of the reporting period.
It added just over 400,000 subscribers during the course of the year and said it remains on track to reach its target of eight million subscribers by the end of the calendar year. Churn was down slightly in the most recent quarter, but remained fractionally above its long-term target of 10%.
There were 888,000 Sky+ households by the end of June, more than double the previous year's figure and representing 11% of all DTH subscribers. Multi-room households - those with subscriptions on more than one set in the home - have also more than doubled, to 645,000.
New and alternative revenue streams grew in importance, with SkyBet revenues up 37% over the previous year at £261 million. BSkyB says it expects SkyBet revenues to exceed advertising revenues (which were £329 million in the 12 months to June) in 2006. Sky Active revenues were down slightly, from £116 million in 2004 to £92 million in 2005. BSkyB has reaffirmed its commitment to launch high definition services in "early 2006", incorporating enhanced PVR capability as well as high quality pictures. More on this is carried in the Future developments section.
Sky take-up slows
New statistics released on the 15 th September by OFCOM, showed BSkyB's subscriber base increased by 75,000 net addition during Q2 05 to reach 7,424,000 subscribers in the UK. During the previous quarter BSkyB had added 87,000 subscribers.
BSkyB's own data presented in their July results shows new DTH home growth reducing year on year through the last 3 years. The approx 7.8 million total homes they secured by June 30th 2005 represents a 432,000 increase on the total for 2004. This compares with obtaining 510,000 in the preceding year from June 2003. The company's growth has to be set against the number of existing Sky homes that may elect to cancel subscriptions and move away from Sky ("churn"). The company aims to maintain this at around 10%. As their chart shows below they have generally been successful but saw a rise to 11% in Q3 this year.
BSkyB remains on track to reach its target of 8 million subscribers by December 2005 but will need to work hard with new products and services to achieve the 10 million it has set to reach by 2010.
Latest estimates suggest there are also around 492,000 free-to-view digital satellite homes. This figure includes viewers who are no longer Sky subscribers but still receive the public service channels through their set-top box. Also included in this figure are the "Solus" viewers who are able to receive the public service channels through this scheme.
The Sky+ 160 offers approximately 80 hours of TV programme storage (four times the current capacity) and was available from October 2004. The new unit is manufactured by Thomson and also includes a USB port, though Sky says they have no current plans that incorporate it. There are many things it could be used for - including transferring content, gaming and even video conferencing. All Sky+ boxes will receive a software upgrades that will allow subscribers to make digital recordings of scheduled interactive programmes on all digital satellite channels. Users will be able to record up to two video streams broadcast alongside an interactive application. BSkyB promoted this service as the first of its kind, and will be available both for Sky's interactive services and those from other broadcasters.
Other enhancements include new sorting options in the Sky+ EPG, online parental controls, and customisable aspect ratios for second TVs and easier radio recording.
Freesat
The launch of Sky+160 was preceded by the "soft launch" of a free digital satellite service from Sky. This is being seen by many as an attempt to rival the success of Freeview, the equivalent service for digital terrestrial TV and to pre-empt plans indicated by the BBC to launch their own Freesat proposition with ITV.
"Freesat from Sky" was launched with little fanfare by BSkyB, as the company continues to focus on pay- TV. Viewers can get a digital set-top box, satellite dish, with free installation and a remote control in the one-off £150 deal.
The proposition includes 140 TV channels, 80 radio channels plus 13 interactive services. Primary channels are not included in the mix but all BBC digital services and those of other terrestrial channels are.
Viewers can also buy a Sky Plus without the need for a subscription to programme packages. BSkyB charges £199 for this plus a further £120 for installation and £10 a month for subscription
Channel 4 is struggling to contemplate joining the BBC and ITV as a result of commercial need to maintain Film Four as a pay TV service. It recently renewed its carriage deal with BSkyB and is committed to reside on Skydigital as is Channel 5
BSkyB and Barclaycard launch a Sky-branded interactive credit card
In addition to the above BSkyB has launched a Sky-branded interactive credit card in partnership with Barclaycard.
In addition to working like other credit cards in shops and at cash machines the SkyCard will be fully integrated with interactive television. Viewers will be able to insert the SkyCard in their Sky box to manage their account securely. Shortly after the launch, users will be able to make purchases through the television using their remote control. BSkyB will market the unique loyalty and interactive features of the SkyCard to its direct-to-home customers across the UK. For every eligible purchase made with the SkyCard, cardholders will earn SkyPoints offering exclusive savings on Sky entertainment including the cost of a monthly Sky digital subscription.
5.3.4 Digital cable
Growth for cable remains pretty static, being constrained by merger discussions between NTL and Telewest that hold back any major network development or other investment in new subscriber growth
The total number of subscribers to cable television is now just over 3.3million, spread between NTL, Telewest and others such as Isle of Wight Cable.
OFCOM's latest statistics show that by 30 June 2005, the total number of UK cable households was 3,301,614. NTL held 1,961,800 of these, while Telewest had 1,331,742, the remainder subscribing to Wightcable.
Telewest showed a net increase of 11,255 subscribers in the quarter, with 39,880 digital subscribers added. NTL saw an overall net increase of 1,800 TV subscribers, but increased its digital subscriber base by 17,200.
The cable industry as a whole saw an overall increase in total TV subscribers of 13,352. The number of digital cable subscribers increased by 2.25% on Q1 2005 with 57,306 homes added.
Cable operators launch video-on-demand
Both Telewest and NTL simultaneously launched video-on-demand services on 18 January 2005. The new services enable viewers to watch selected content when and how they want, with DVD-style functionality provided through their remote controls.
The new services represent the cable networks' initial attempt to take on Sky's PVR product, Sky+, and to diversify their offer in an increasingly competitive platform market. Telewest targeted Sky+ again when they confirmed the launch of their own PVR receiver. The product will be made by Scientific Atlanta.
The PVR comes with a substantial 160Gb hard drive, able to store around 80 hours of programming, matching the latest Sky+ box. It will also support high-definition HDTV signals for future use. It is equipped with both component analogue and HDMI digital outputs for high definition, together with dual SCART, optical digital audio and an Ethernet port.
Outside of the new VOD launch, the cable operators are focusing more on developing their telephony and broadband businesses.
Telewest to be fully digital by end of 2006
Telewest expects to be operating a fully digital television network by the end of 2006. The company, which is due to merge with larger operator ntl later this year, indicates the transition to a fully digital network will free up "significant amounts of bandwidth", allowing "extra capacity for video-on-demand ( VOD), high definition TV, broadband speed increases and other services".
Telewest says it plans to continue its region-by-region VOD roll-out during the second half of this year and complete the national roll-out by early 2006.
5.4 Marketing
Marketing activities will of course form part of the major communications strands for many organisations in the DTV arena.
"Digital UK" (formerly Switchco) will pick up the tasks identified by the DTI/ DCMS/Industry DTV Project and related Action Plan. The working group set up last October was officially launched on April 13th 2005. It is a not-for profit organisation funded by the BBC, ITV, C4, Five, Teletext and S4C and Crown Castle who are all represented on the management board, together with two manufacturer representatives. For the next seven years "Digital UK" will be in charge of the "development, coordination and implementation of the switchover programme" in close coordination with DCMS, DTI and Ofcom http://www.switchco.co.uk.
Central and Local Government departments should also continue to develop their activities in the DTV arena but in a manner consistent with "Digital UK" moves, the last eGU framework DiTV framework document and associated DTV Working Group Meetings.
There will be an increasing trend for companies from the PC and Internet arena to move into the TV sector. This is being fuelled in part by the trend for TV manufacturers to move away from Cathode Ray Tubes to LCD or Plasma displays as long used in the PC market. In January 2004 Intel moved into the digital TV market with a low-cost, single-chip solution to all the electronics and chip technology sets found in today's big screen TVs.
As a consequence of the factors above and increasing convergence between PC AND TV sectors, much of the marketing work will need to be on coordinating efforts and using commonly shared terminology rather than creating new activities alone.
5.4.1 Older Generation
Marketing to the older generation still remains an issue. Awareness of DTV has improved, however being aware and comprehending the message is very different.
While some have heard of Freeview or Sky, many are unclear that the services each offer are different. In addition such viewers may not recognize that coverage/reception issues may arise or critically that if they fail to convert from analogue pre switchover, they will lose the use of their current TV's or VCR's.
While marketing for DTV has already increased, it remains largely focused on younger communities of viewers better placed to understand the messages being delivered.
Much more has to be done to market effectively to the older generation. This is particularly pertinent when many of the older generation have higher disposable income than younger people. A recent report on the UK's wealth levels published by the Future Foundation and Inscape, indicates the 'grey pound' is becoming ever more powerful.
The grey pound generation currently constitutes half of the four million 'mass affluents' in the UK. Buoyed by increasing levels of wealth, today's 55 to 65 year olds are enjoying the fruits of windfalls from privatised utilities, lumps sums upon retirement and occupational pension pay-outs, and look set to weather the current economic uncertainties better than other age groups. This is in sharp contrast to a younger generation of 30 to 40 year olds who, concerned about finances and the growing costs of an ageing population, are becoming more conservative.
Simplified marketing messages for OAPs delivered by a trusted spokesperson/celebrity or representative body are being contemplated by those in and around Digital UK ( e.g. such as Alan Hart-Davies, Michael Aspel, Saga or Help the Aged.) These messages could be an alternative to or an addition to some form of peer-to-peer marketing.
5.4.2 Immigrants/Ethnic Groups
The UK continues to have a large diverse cosmopolitan mix of inhabitants. Many of which may be reluctant to take DTV and particularly DTT/cable solutions when content on these platform serving their culture/language is very limited. This applies in particular to the older generation unable to adopt UK / Western culture as readily as their offspring.
On September 12 th 2005, the BBC published the most extensive maps of immigration to Britain ever produced showing where people came from and where they have settled over the years.
At the 2001 census, the population of the UK was 58,789,194. The latest estimate, published a week before the BBC's "Born Abroad" was published, is 59.8m. The figures suggest that the UK population will very soon top 60m, in line with predictions. Migration is an important part of this population growth; as the BBC's Born Abroad figures show, those coming from abroad accounted for half of population growth between 1991 and 2001.
The Office for National Statistics estimates that net migration ( i.e. those who coming from abroad minus those who are leaving) accounted for two-thirds of population growth in the year to summer 2004. According to the BBC Study 7.5% of people living in Britain were born abroad.
There are significant levels of foreign ex pats in the UK, here either through work placement or more recently as refugees. There are large bases of Italians located around Northants in England and Glasgow in Scotland. UK offices for employers such as Nokia, BMW, Ericsson, Renault often hold significant levels of Finns, Germans, Swedes and French employees who reside in the UK.
Source: BBC
5.4.3 Scotland
According to the BBC's "Born Abroad" study, 168,142 people born abroad were living in Scotland at the time of the 2001 census, representing 3.3% of the population.
34% more foreign-born people were living in Scotland in 2001 than in 1991 - one of the fastest rates of change. 8.93% of people in south-west Aberdeen are foreign-born - predominantly oil industry workers.
The largest group in the Census is people born in Germany, probably because of the children of military personnel born while stationed there. After Pakistan-born, the next largest group is US-born. Edinburgh and Glasgow perhaps unsurprisingly have the largest numbers of people born abroad - six areas across the two cities have more than the GB average.
BSkyB appears to recognize the potential for strong sales from foreign residents. It is capitalizing on its greater channel capacity to offer compelling services. It continues to be popular with the Asian community helped by many in this sector being younger and more westernised.
Those in the Asian community favouring more of a Free-to-view proposition may have been compelled to move to Sky after BSkyB dropped subscription charges on key services. In January 2004, Star Network and Sky agreed a deal for Asian channels Star News and Star Plus to drop their subscription charges from1st March. Up until then the services were only available for a £12 per month additional fee - both channels will be available free to all viewers with the Family or Lifestyle packs. Additionally, Sky are now addressing other Foreign nationals or indeed British born residents keen to extend their language skills or knowledge of other countries/countries.
Bandwidth constraints on DTT continue to see it poorly placed to address the foreign contingent in the UK. Services have developed somewhat with more foreign films/programming being shown on BBC4 and other on such as UK History in accounts of the last century's two world wars. Radio services aimed at the Asian community and the BBC World service continue to assist but all falls way short of the Sky digital portfolio.
Some foreign channels have been carried on cable linked to the local communities that cable can address. However the varied mix of network architecture and services for UK cable restricts the ability to promote nationally.
5.5 Content
This section refers generically to Interactivity. The issues highlighted refer equally to enhanced TV (one way) based services as well as true (two way) alternatives built around a return path - be it a fixed line or mobile telephony based solution.
5.5.1 Interactivity
As always content needs to be compelling to encourage take up of any service. This is equally true for interactivity and explains why largely to date it is still not a key driver for DTV take-up. Things are improving as broadcaster experience has developed over the last year or so and key learnings have been made from citizen usage and feedback.
Interactivity is seen to add value and is a welcome addition to the TV environment but not a "must have" service or huge innovation. Research in early 2002 showed just 3% of people cited interactivity as main benefit of digital TV. This was half of the number reported in 2001. However, time people spend in interactive services has gone up. Interactive TV lies conceptually between teletext and the Internet - although the perception varies by viewer type. Factors affecting the perception of interactive TV include familiarity with teletext, DTV (especially EPGs) and the Internet.
According to research from the British Market Research Bureau ( BMRB), viewers appear keen to experiment with the interactive features of digital TV initially but this does not necessarily extend into regular usage. Viewers can be alienated by broadcasters' indiscriminate use of the button and broadcasters are learning to use it more sparingly. Many viewers ignore the red button - rather like a channel logo.
Interactive services need to be presented simply and clearly. For instance, the issues that the BBC faced when people made their screens go blank as a result of pressing the standby (also red) key on their TV handset rather than on their STB have been well documented.
Interactive DTV adopters are fairly representative of the general population - but with a skew towards families with children, young adults and men.
Source: BRMB November 2004
The BBC has conducted a lot of research on viewers who interact with their programmes. One of their main findings was that there is no such thing as a specialist iTV audience, but that the viewers interacting with a certain programme have an exaggerated profile of the linear audience of the programme. For example, the interactors of the Flower Show are older and more female skewed than the programme audience. This shows that it is the really interested people that are pressing the red button, not just the younger and more technically advanced ones.
Another of the BBC's main findings was that interactive content is very dependent on the programme. Even if the enhanced content is a stand-alone service and accessible around the clock, viewers usually do not just stumble across them but need the hook of the programme to access it.
This shows that the interactive TV audience is tied to the TV schedule and enhanced services do not work on an on-demand basis. Their experience showed that the best position for promoting the interactive part of a programme is at the end, during the last 10 minutes of the programme.
Everyone will interact - but skew towards TV target - Source BBC/ BARB November 2004
Interactive DTV is emerging as a primarily complementary medium for those who already have web access at home. Almost no one with access to both would do their grocery shopping or other transactions via the TV rather than the PC. Analysis suggests that interactive TV can play a role in bringing people online - but only to a limited extent.
Usage of interactive TV services in digital TV households is characterised by short visits. It is mostly as an alternative to uninteresting TV programmes and occasionally as an extension of interesting ones. Around half of all interactive TV users say they use interactive services when they cannot find a good programme to watch. Of these half use it during advertisement breaks and the other half turn on the TV specifically to use Interactive services. When using interactive services, about 50% do so for periods up to 10 minutes. The November 2004 BBC/ BARB research revealed major spikes in interactive application usage at the end of primary programmes appealing to many viewers.
The chart below shows when viewers were interacting with the Chelsea Flower Show that was on air on a Tuesday from 8 to 9 pm. The peaks during the programme were just after the presenter endorsed the enhanced service. It also shows that the highest number of viewers interacting is just after the programme finished and then it tailed off over the next 2.5 hours.
Interactive programmes that work best are those that understand and anticipate viewers' needs and/or add to the viewing experience without distracting the viewer. Interactive services can be applied to any type of programme as long as it is relevant to the content of the specific programme. It is crucial to achieve a balance in the intensity of the experience: too difficult, and the user becomes anxious; too simple, and boredom sets in. In short those programmes with interactivity supporting the TV's key entertainment role are the most successful.
According to research in April 2005 from BMRB, over 12 million digital viewers have now pressed the interactive button.
The BBC has been at the forefront, putting together a wide range of well-publicised enhanced TV programmes on all of its channels. Over 2004, the BBC produced 190 enhanced TV applications on the three digital (Satellite, Cable and DTT) platforms. Some of the enhanced programmes were used by well over 3 million viewers. The chart opposite reveals the most popular programmes to date and interactive user levels.
The 8.96 million people that viewed the 2004 Olympics Sky digital Interactive service represented 58% of the audience. 83% stayed for more than 3 minutes, 61% were still interacting 15 minutes later. More than half (51%) stayed with the application for over 25 minutes.
One of the most high profile enhanced TV programme has been Channel 4's Big Brother, also shown on E4. In the final week of last year's series, more than 6.3 million votes were cast (including phone and mobile votes), bringing the total votes for Big Brother 5 to 14.8 million.
In 2004, Channel 4 has also created enhanced - TV services for The Salon, Without Prejudice and Richard & Judy, allowing people to access more information and vote.
In January 2005, bosses behind last year's X-Factor reality pop contest claimed the series was the most successful interactive show of the year. The grand finale of the series, won by Steve Brookstein was watched by fewer viewers than BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing.
But the success of the programmes interactive functions overjoyed the ITV bosses as a massive 22 million votes were cast by text message and the on-screen red-button, including 8.5 million during the final episode. The show's microsite on itv.com clinched a massive 500,000 unique users during the series, while a competition hosted by ITV to accompany the series garnered 600,000 entries and became the most successful of the year for the broadcaster. Jane Marshall, the interactive controller of ITV indicates that the interactive elements and viewer participation were integral to the show's success both as a format and means of heightening viewers' enjoyment and involvement.
5.5.2 Gaming & Gambling
Gaming remains as the most popular single interactive TV application, followed by entering a quiz or competition. According to BMRB data in 2004, approximately 55% of the 9 million UK households with interactive TV (return path based satellite and cable services) played games regularly. Many of these paying significant amounts for the privilege.
BSkyB's Sky Active twenty-four hour interactive services, particularly betting, contribute significant revenue to Sky. In May 2005, BSkyB results revealed that SkyBet revenues rose during the last quarter to reach £186 million for the last nine months, up 40% on the same period in previous year. Gross margin rose to 10%, driven by the introduction of new fixed odds games such as Roulette. With the recent passing of a new Gambling Bill, Sky says there will be further opportunities from the end of the year.
Sky Active revenues fell 22% as a result of reductions in sales in the SkyBuy retail service which had been "de-emphasised" as they were not particularly profitable. Other interactive revenues rose 5% to £62 million over nine months, reflecting growth in interactive advertising, games and third party betting and gaming.
Somewhat surprisingly, BARB data reveals about 50% of interactive TV game players are women. 5 -15 year olds form a larger audience than the traditional computer games addicts of 16 to 25 year old males.
Interactive TV games are not as complex as console titles. This comes through their reliance on the typically low-powered processing in a TVSTB and standard telephone line to take signals back to the broadcaster. Games available include quiz and fruit machine simulations and recreations of classic arcade games such as Space Invaders and Asteroids. Solitaire has proven to be as addictive to new interactive TV audiences as seen with office workers with PCs in recent years.
Enhanced game shows can have a clear attraction to active viewers who may wish to play along, although so far few quiz programmes have fully taken advantage of enhanced TV. Discovery's Mastermind and ITV's Who Wants to Be A Millionaire were some of the first enhanced programme's broadcast in 2001 that allowed viewers to interact and play along. 3rd May 2004 saw the BBC's latest "Test the Nation - The National IQ Test" attract over 1 million viewers per show, its format remains the same since it started in 2002. Once again it made use of their very simple but effective interactive application.
These allow Sky Digital and Digital Terrestrial viewers to participate in the show simultaneously using their remote controls to answer each question using one of the four corresponding colour keys on their remotes.
The simplicity of the application is a key factor in its success. Both the outward design and functionality of the application might appear to be extremely basic, but a lot more is happening 'under the bonnet' than might be expected. Most notably, unlike many interactive play-along shows, this show is actually broadcast live. Correct synchronization of the questions is absolutely key as viewers only have 25 seconds to answer each of them, and can often make or change their answers in the last few seconds. After completing all 70 questions, the interactive application automatically totals up the viewers' correct answers and presents them on screen including results for each question category. Viewers can as previously take the test online via the web or simply calculating their own scores using a pen and paper.
Five years after the launch of DiTV problems can still arise. In the May 2005 series of the BBC flagship quiz programme, Sky digital viewers of Test the Nation suffered problems. Satellite viewers pressing the red button on their remote at the start of the programme in response to the prompt to "Play Along" were told to "Please wait" and shown a blue screen. After ten seconds, the set-top box timed out to show a caption: "There is a technical fault. Please retry later."
Anyone pressing the text button on their remote would have been able to access the interactive menu, but after selecting the Test the Nation option would have seen a loading screen for thirty seconds, followed by an error message saying "The BBC Interactive Service is currently unavailable. Please try again later." with an error code. The problem persisted for at least four minutes, and arose because links were provided to an interactive application that was not available, rather like receiving a 404 "Not Found" error message on a web site.
Broadcasters and their partners need to be aware of the risk that confusing citizens in this way may well result in them turning away from interactive television.
New interactive gaming and quiz channels continue to be developed and launched. August 30th saw ITV announce it is to launch interactive games on Sky Digital. GTV is the name of the upcoming pay-per-play interactive games service which the ITV network is launching on the satellite platform in September. It will feature a number of quizzes, puzzles, pub and arcade-style games based on various ITV programme brands, as well as non- ITV branded games.
Freeview and Cable platforms are also seeing new games based developments. Quiz Call is a new channel from Channel 4 that launched earlier in August 2005. It broadcasts live daily between 4pm and midnight on Freeview and NTL. Viewers are encouraged to participate by telephone. Quiz Call is expected to launch at a later date on Sky Digital.
5.5.3 Email, the Web, and t-commerce
Research suggests that very few people prefer to access the Internet from their TVs.
From BMRB research of June 2003, TV commerce appears not to have taken off as was once expected. Only about 10 per cent of Sky and cable viewers have ever bought anything via digital TV. Of these, few have ever spent more than £100 over the past six months. Citizens spend more on purchases through the Internet.
TV as a medium has traditionally been associated with entertainment and information, not with communication and transactions (Henley 2001). The "lean back" attributes of TV versus the "lean forward" ones for PCs have now been intensively reported over the last 2-3 years.
Some technical issues remain as barriers to take up. These include traditional TVs carrying an interlaced based display, teamed with a lower resolution and reduced colour palette compared with typical PC monitors. That being said, the growing trend of TV manufacturers moving towards flat panel type products and adopting LCD or other more PC centric type displays will do much to address the performance differences seen today.
The longer viewing distance (typically 8-12 feet away) associated with TV watching versus the close to PC (1-2 feet away) experience is another key element impacting interest in Internet based services over TV, particularly when many web pages are configured for PC viewing with lots of small text sited close together.
The fundamental difference of TV service navigation to that of a PC is a significant factor for limited interest. TV service navigation is typically made by a simple point and shoot remote control and not a " QWERTY" type keyboard as with a PC. Some manufacturers have launched combined handsets with fold down "qwerty" keyboards and operators have released full size "qwerty" keyboards as an optional extra - neither have recorded much success. Sky has the leading DTV operator in the UK has only sold a few tens of thousands of full sized keyboards as the majority of the millions of subscribers prefer to use the standard remote control.
What is apparent is that the similarity between TV remote controls and mobile phones is a significant positive element. Many users readily accept SMS like entry of characters when compiling mail or other messaging services. Sky remotes already carry the standard "alpha" capability ( e.g.ABC on button 2) and the industry at large is now moving to adopt minimum handset requirements to include alpha support.
Another reason for the limited success of the TV as a web access platform may be due to TV viewing sometimes being a secondary activity ( e.g. viewing while preparing or eating a meal).
Furthermore, TVs tend to be "shared viewing" devices - even if only on some occasions when family and friends sit together. Conversely PCs are largely a "single user/viewer" product. This difference has led to little interest in use of digital TV for personal finance / commerce services as originally envisaged by many. The potential viewing by others of personal data such as bank balances or PIN numbers causes many to stay using the PC instead. This issue has been demonstrated in the June 2003 announcement of Abbey National to cease it's digital TV banking services. Of 1.6 million registered users of the Abbey's Internet banking services very few, measured in low thousands ever used either DTV or WAP-based banking.
In late 2003, BMRB looked further into the reasons for declining take-up of transactional DiTV services. Rather than finding security issues to be a concern when purchasing via DTV such as fear of credit card fraud or over personal data, they found that problems centred on ease of use and reliability. Then a total of 63% either slightly or strongly disagreed that interactive services were easy to use. More than half (51%) of users slightly or strongly agreed that interactive services often did not work.
BMRB's research also concluded that it is increasingly harder to attract viewers to uses stand alone services such as email. It is becoming increasingly apparent that typically "sole user oriented" or more "transactional" interactive applications do not fare well on DTV. In many users' minds the TV remains a shared viewing device continuing to deliver "lean back" entertainment based services. Application developers will have to continue to think of more entertainment based sharable applications that can be delivered to generate more demand for DiTV.
In summary
Interactive services that work best on TV are those that do not directly compete with the functions usually performed over the PC.
Interactive elements today are still not acting as primary drivers for DTV take up. No citizen is rushing out to buy DTV to access red key services. The confusion already mentioned earlier in this paper, over what qualifies as an interactive service compounded by lack of clear Marketing are not helping. Clearer distinction on what each platform can offer needs to be built. As well as improving citizen awareness, such could help producers /researchers make more effective analysis of real usage.
More often than not industry analysts or research companies have referred to interactive tv usage without distinguishing what platform/operator or service is being used. BSkyB's current dominance has fuelled a tendency to test /measure Sky digital boxes/services alone. This may change going forward as Freeview DTT continues to lead DTV growth, cable services begin to differentiate more and IPTV based services emerge.
Some useful lessons have been made through measuring Sky's services that could be moved to other platforms subject to their inherent transmission, hardware and software differences.
As the digital TV market begins to mature, interest in finding new appealing services intensifies. Many broadcasters and software developers are looking to enhanced and interactive elements to produce such and research processes will hopefully address all levels and platforms.
5.6 Standards
5.6.1 EU backs voluntary standards
The European Commission has reiterated its support for open and interoperable standards for interactive television, but says implementation should not be made legally binding.
Member States should continue to promote open and interoperable standards for interactive digital TV, including the Multimedia Home Platform or MHP standard, on a voluntary basis, says the European Commission in a new communication on the interoperability of interactive digital TV.
Proposals made by the Commission have included setting up a Member State group on MHP implementation, confirming that Member States can offer citizen subsidies for interactive TV receivers - subject to state aid rules - and monitoring access to proprietary digital interactive TV applications.
"In view of the complexity of the technological and market environment, the very different perceptions of interoperability held by market players, and the fact that interactive digital TV has not yet taken off on a larger scale in many Member States, we felt that the digital television market should continue to develop unhindered for the present" commented Enterprise and Information Society Commissioner Olli Rehn.
He went further to indicate that the Commission will revisit the issue at the end of 2005 in order to see to what extent market developments have contributed to interoperability and freedom of choice for users.
The Commission noted that there are over 32 million digital receivers in use in Europe 1 , of which at least 25 million have interactive capability. This market for interactive TV television developed without a European API standard. Initially there were five significant APIs in Europe; content or applications authored for one API could not be used by a receiver containing a different API. Currently MHP is the only open standard for APIs adopted by EU standards bodies.
5.6.2 Background
The European Commission had called for a public consultation on Interoperability of digital interactive television services and received many contributions in response.
The MHP Alliance called for the Commission to make it a legal obligation for member states to pick one open API most suitable for their national market from a future date no later than 2008, while recommending MHP for all new 'greenfield' markets.
The EBU argued that the Commission should ensure that from a given date only open standard API systems should be used that is those recognised by a European standards body, and that MHP should be recommended but not mandated for all new green field markets.
This view was largely echoed by ITV, the UK commercial television company, arguing that the standardisation of existing proprietary APIs over time while recommending MHP for new markets would provide a workable compromise that would not place a disproportionate burden on the market.
The BBC submitted that open standards should be required after a certain date, adding that mandating a single open standard is currently unnecessary and mandating MHP would present the British market with daunting legacy problems.
BSkyB responded by observing that its WTVML browser, based on internet compatible technology, had been submitted to ETSI and adopted as an open standard. The satellite operator argued that any intervention by the Commission would be unwarranted and detrimental. The response of Open TV, who currently provide the middleware for BSkyB, was not made public.
On behalf of the UK Government, the Department of Trade and Industry argued that any move to mandate MHP would prejudice plans for digital switchover and that MHP should be considered as one among a number of voluntary standards, including MHEG 5 and WTVML.
5.6.3 The Portable Content Format
An open standard defined by the DVB organisation, PCF is a tool being developed to enable cross pollination of content between different platforms and dev PCF ices.
With three different broadcast distribution systems to support - satellite, terrestrial and cable - the BBC has been looking at cross-platform authoring technologies for five years. This work is now feeding into the DVB- PCF or Portable Content Format initiative.
PCF is designed to enable the business-to-business interchange of high-level descriptions of interactive services between different content providers and platform operators. Essentially, PCF aims to provide a common language to enable the translation of certain types of interactive service between different platforms.
A first version of the PCF specification is expected to be delivered towards the end of the year.
DTG Multi-platform Interoperability Group
This Group has been formed to draw together UK parties active in interactive television, and to research the possibilities of integrated interactive television technologies.
It seeks to build on the independent thinking of the players already active within this sector. It will gather data and intelligence on existing equipment, facilities, tools and resources in order to devise an efficient and effective environment(s) in which to demonstrate interoperable pilot systems using existing technologies.
Recognising the importance of the DVB- PCF work, the DTG group will maintain a close liaison, proposing to provide input to DVB specification work which is influenced by practical experience, and taking advantage of the window of opportunity before the technical work of the DVB sub-group starts in earnest.
The following companies are represented on the Multi-platform Interoperability Group:
Telewest, Carlton TV, BSkyB, Channel 4, NTL, BBC, BT, Espial, Zetacast, Cabot, Philips and ITV.
The Group's chairman is Giles Godart-Brown of Liberate.
5.6.4 e-GIF
Alongside this industry led initiative there are others such as the Government led e-GIF interoperability framework. The main thrust of it is to adopt the Internet and World Wide Web specifications for all government systems.
There is a strategic decision to adopt XML and XSL as the core standard for data integration and management of presentational data. This includes the definition and central provision of XML schemas for use throughout the public sector.
The e-GIF also adopts specifications that are well supported in the market place. It is a pragmatic strategy that aims to reduce cost and risk for government systems whilst aligning them to the global Internet revolution.
Adherence to the e-GIF specifications and policies is mandatory. They set the underlying infrastructure, freeing up public sector organisations so that they can concentrate on serving the customer through building value added information and services. It will be for the organisations themselves to consider how their business processes can be changed to be more effective by taking advantage of the opportunities provided by increased interoperability.
Stipulating policies and specifications in themselves is not enough. Successful implementation will mean the provision of support, best practice guidance, toolkits and centrally agreed schemas. To provide this, the Government has launched the UK GovTalk TM initiative. This is a Cabinet Office led, joint government and industry forum for generating and agreeing XML schemas for use throughout the public sector.
5.6.5 Sky e-business development portal
Sky Interactive has developed a new interactive television portal that will enable website operators to reach a potential audience of around 20 million users through the television set. The aim for the portal is attracting a diverse range of web content providers including established e-business operators, not-for-profit organisations and even individuals.
The development of the new portal reflects the growing trend for website owners to deliver content to multiple devices and for citizens to access electronic services on a variety of different platforms. With approximately 10 million viewers accessing Sky's existing interactive services each month, Sky believes that the new portal will represent a significant new opportunity for website owners interested in service delivery to non- PC devices.
The new initiative complements the focused entertainment, gaming and communications services available on the existing Sky Active portal by creating an inexpensive TV distribution channel for a wider range of web content. With the launch of the new portal, Sky aims to broaden the range of services available on its platform and to stimulate further innovation in the interactive TV arena.
Available without subscription to all digital satellite viewers in the UK and Ireland, the easy-to-use portal will provide access to a range of internet services that have been adapted especially for television. Services will be accessed using conventional URLs or via the portal's listings pages and online search engine.
In addition, personalisation features will enable viewers to save their favourite links and access a history of services visited previously. Each person in a household will be able to create an individual profile where he or she can enter personal information to facilitate online transactions, using features such as auto-complete and auto-logon.
For website operators, the new portal will make it easier than ever before to launch an interactive TV service. Registration, testing and validation services will be available online at Skyinteractive.com and website operators will be able to adapt their services using the WTVML technology that was developed by Sky and subsequently made available as a public standard.
There will be no up-front charge to register and launch a site to the new portal and website operators will be able to choose from a range of optional marketing features to promote their content to Sky viewers. These will include the ability to register a 'shortcode', called a SkyKey that will allow viewers to jump directly to their site from the portal's home page.
The last five years have seen parallel growth of the use of the Internet and the deployment of Digital TV devices in people's homes. Both Digital TV and the Internet are now used regularly and have become equally important in many individual's "digital" lives. Early attempts at deploying Internet sites unchanged on the Television failed to recognise that web sites must be tailored to the device in order to deliver an acceptable user experience. Access to Internet services is becoming ubiquitous. Modern web sites have become able to recognise the type of device accessing them and many now have variants designed for PDA's, mobile phones, kiosks and even Media Centre PCs.
With 45% of UK homes still not having Internet connected PCs and demand for mobile and kiosk style services increasing, web site operators are looking to expand their audiences and provide their services to current customers though any convenient device. To facilitate this, many modern web infrastructures use a layered technical model, with content being independently managed from the presentation layer of the site.
Sky has recognised these changes in the industry with the growth of the e-business marketplace and has developed a new e-business Portal now launched as a beta version on the Sky platform. The Portal has the capability to bridge the gap between popular Internet Services and Interactive TV. The new Portal and its associated control interface for web site owners (Site Control) allow the majority of web site operators to easily register, test and launch a tailored Interactive TV version of their site to Sky customers. Inclusion in the Portal is free to web site operators, and it is therefore anticipated that many thousands of sites will convert over time.
While many non-PC devices do not interoperate, and support fragmented audiences and technology standards, the Sky digital network of devices represent a single addressable audience of over 7.7 million UK homes and over 20 million individuals. It therefore represents the largest single non- PC audience available to web site operators in the UK.
In 2004, Sky published through ETSI the specification of WTVML (Worldwide TV Markup Language). Designed to be a "Common Content Format" for multiple device types, it has its origins in the original WML 1.3 standards, but has evolved into a rich and efficient, standards based language to develop sophisticated interactive services for TVs, kiosks and other similar sub- PC devices. As a result, Sky's new e-business Portal is based on standard internet technologies and provides the simplest and least expensive iDTV publishing model yet seen for interactive television.
Encouraging a proliferation of services is one thing, but helping customers find relevant services is the key to creating a vibrant ecosystem of interactive services. Sky's new e-business portal leaves the old-style hierarchical service menus behind, and introduces the first internet style search facility for iDTV. Users can also find relevant services through a genre classification system. Once a service has been found, users can bookmark it in their personalised favourite's lists.
Another first is the SkyKey concept, where site owners can register an easy to remember numeric key - that usually will correspond to the site name - and promote it through their own communications, just as they currently include a website URL in all collateral.
The SkyKey allows Sky's new e-business portal users to link directly to the site, without needing to search or navigate through a menu structure.
The new portal is not an attempt to recreate the World Wide Web experience on TV. Sky believes that access to the web is best achieved using a PC. However it is a dedicated iDTV proposition that is designed to bring some of the value propositions of the Internet to new audiences or existing audiences in a new and sometimes more convenient format
5.6.6 MHP
Across Europe, interactive services using the DVB Multimedia Home Platform standard have been launched on the cable, satellite and terrestrial platforms.
While not formally mandated by the European Commission, MHP has been embraced as an open and interoperable standard that can be actively encouraged and promoted. Already, several countries have launched MHP-based interactive services on the terrestrial platform.
MHP is not the only interactive television service system in the market. Proprietary systems such as MediaHighway and Open TV have been installed in a large number of set-top boxes, often for cable and satellite platforms. In the United Kingdom, MHEG also an open standard is widely used on the terrestrial platform. The UK remains the leading DTV market in the world and has now secured over 15 million digital homes.
This legacy base and little real evidence of improved interactive content via MHP have seen the country dismiss the technology currently. There is little appetite in UK Government and industry to pull back the base of deployed Sky receivers at least.
Freeview products utilise MHEG, which carry much of the base technology stacks that MHP is founded on. As such there is more of an inherent upgrade path between the two. However in addition to offering no real improved performance to MHEG, MHP technology continues to be more expensive and is still not as stable. Accordingly the UK industry has no plans to migrate to MHP but watches its development with interest.
As a result of the various products and services in the market, the DVB Project has been working on the development of the Portable Content Format ( PCF) to deliver a wide range of interactive television services to multiple platforms with a minimum of re-authoring. It has significant interest for operators who wish to migrate towards MHP by allowing them to manage simultaneously a mixed population of devices.
As MHP-based interactive services are launched throughout Europe, will they encourage the uptake of digital television services? Country case-studies demonstrate that the strategy adopted for the launch of interactive services does impact the roll-out in the market.
Two different types of launch strategies can be used for the free-to-air DTT platform;
In a first strategy, national governments focus on the roll-out of digital terrestrial services using simple (zapper) set-top boxes that converts the digital signal for reception on an analogue television set. This strategy encourages the uptake of DTT services by promoting the purchase of a relatively inexpensive zapper set-top box in order for viewers to access an increase in the number of television programme services. Once the DTT services are accepted by the general population, broadcasters can launch interactive services in a second step. However, this strategy results in a large quantity of zapper boxes in viewer households that will need to be converted in order to access interactive services.
In a second strategy, interactive services are an integral part of the initial launch of DTT services and viewers are educated to understand that television can provide a wide range of new services. DTT is no longer a simple translation of a previously existing television services but rather a new television experience. However, this strategy requires a greater financial investment given the higher cost of an MHP-enabled set-top box when compared with zapper set-top box.
Generally, countries have tended mix the two strategies. Viewers have benefited from both an increase in the number of television service programmes available as well as interactive television services. Yet, this combination has not always allowed for an impressive take-off of MHP based interactive services. In the case of Finland, citizens could choose between a zapper set-top box that allows them to access more television service programmes or an MHP-enabled set-top box that allows them to access both the increased number of television services programmes as well as the interactive services. However, MHP-enabled set-top boxes make up only 5% of all set-top boxes currently purchased.
So as to encourage viewers to buy MHP-enabled set-top boxes, the Italian government has provided households with a subsidy towards the purchase of their interactive set-top boxes. While this subsidy can be used for any open platform interactive boxes, such as those used to receive TV via fibre optic broadband services, it has encouraged the purchase of MHP-enabled set-top boxes.
It is estimated that 1.5 million MHP-enabled set-top boxes have already been purchased since February 2004. In addition, the decrease in subsidy from 150 Euro in 2004 to 70 Euro in 2005 reflects the drop in price for MHP-enabled set-top boxes following their massive uptake.
The consumption of MHP-enabled set-top boxes is reported to have kick started the economies of scale for their manufacture. The marginal cost difference for an MHP-enabled set-top box and a zapper set-top box is now much reduced. By adopting this strategy, the Italian government has successfully prevented its market from being flooded with simple zapper set-top boxes.
It has been assumed that many citizens will invariably prefer the cheaper zapper set-top box to a more expensive MHP-enabled set-top box. However, this reasoning disregards the type of interactive services offered. For example, should viewers find interactive services compelling and easy to use, they may be willing to spend the extra money necessary for an interactive set-top box. Thus, it would seem that citizen education is key to the successful roll-out of interactive services.
Much will depend on the role and importance attributed to interactive services. Should governments wish to promote t-government services, it is necessary to encourage households to purchase an interactive set-top box. Broadcasters may use interactive services as a means to increase their revenue and as a result invest funds in the development of appealing content. The priorities of content developers, broadcasters and governments will impact the successful roll-out of interactive services and likely lead to variations between markets.
5.6.7 Interoperability
As operators continue to trade on their individual unique selling propositions, all are building substantial and sustainable independent customer bases.
Sky digital remains as the leading digital broadcast service today. Freeview DTT take-up is expanding rapidly with some such as Zenith Media forecasting it to overtake the former by the end of 2007. Cable TV remains relatively strong too, assisted by strong broadband take up, and telephony.
In many cases however, content is provided to all by the same broadcasters or application writers but still in different formats based on current middleware variants Open TV, MHEG-5 and Liberate. The majority would clearly welcome common interoperable standards to be deployed that could allow them to "create once" and deliver to all platforms more efficiently.
At last, some positive steps seem to be occurring in this area possibly as a result of EU rumblings on common standards. The foremost initiative is the Portable Content Format.
5.6.8 International
Finland
A number of MHP services are available from the main TV channels in two countrywide multiplexes on the terrestrial network and also on cable networks. The MHP services of YLE, the public broadcaster, have also been available on satellite since the beginning of 2005. Common services to all channels are digital teletext, channel portal and a 7-day EPG. YLE and MTV3 have also developed channel and programme specific applications such as enhanced TV, t-commerce, gaming, etc. Regional MHP services are available in some cities: Tampere and Helsinki each have an MHP portal providing a range of local information - more information from the City of Tampere website.
All major cable operators will launch a full range of commercial MHP services in the fourth quarter of this year. There are currently around 50,000 MHP boxes in Finnish homes. This number is expected to grow rapidly with the introduction of PVR and/or broadband- IP enabled MHP products, available from at least one vendor before the end of 2005.
The Nordic satellite operator, Canal Digital, is committed to following other Nordic broadcasters in supporting MHP and is ready to launch MHP services following pilots in 2003/4.
Public service broadcasters have been very active in establishing the Nordic Migration Plan to ensure the introduction of MHP-based interactive services. The launch of DTT services in Denmark and Norway will likely include interactive services. Denmark is expected to launch its DTT services in July 2005 while Norway may launch its services in 2006. In Sweden, interactive services were initially implemented using the proprietary system, Open TV. However, the migration towards MHP-based services is underway and the public broadcaster SVT launched an MHP based digital teletext service in March 2004.
Germany
Germany has been a continued supporter of the roll-out of MHP-based interactive television services, especially on the satellite platform. MHP data services have been launched on the terrestrial television platform.
Austria,
In Austria a DTT trial with MHP-based interactive services provided 150 households in Graz with access to an interactive television service called TV4 using the telephone connection for the return channel. Using their television remote control, viewers could retrieve information services and vote. Given the success of the trial, it is likely that MHP-based interactive services will be launched alongside DTT services.
Hungary
In Hungary, MHP-based interactive services are available in the DTT trials conducted by Antenna Hungaria. The services are information based and include digital teletext and an EPG.
Australia
At the start of September 2004, free-to-air broadcasters in Australia indicated that, as a minimum, set-top boxes for the Australian market should be manufactured to the MHP 1.0.2 standard.
ABC Television is broadcasting three MHP applications - Mini launcher, EPG and Election 2004 - nationwide.It is hoped that MHP boxes will be available in the retail market by the end of 2005. Up to now tests have been done using mainly European IRDs.
ABC also developed two Independent TV applications to accompany national election coverage in 2004 - one offering news updates in the final week of the campaign, and the second allowing viewers to keep up with the news and the count after the polls closed. While the number of viewers was small, this was an important political and technical trial and the service is still on air as a demonstration application
Spain
In February 2002, the Ministry of Science and Technology in Spain sponsored an agreement for the promotion and implementation of interactive services based on the MHP standard signed by leading manufacturers and broadcasters. Currently MHP services are available in Catalonia, Madrid and the Basque region and are expected to be launched in Galicia. In Catalonia, the Miromercats pilot supplied 100 homes with advanced MHP applications and provided a return channel via the telephone line.
Italy
The turning point for MHP has been in Italy where interactive content has been a cornerstone of the launch of DTT services. Broadcasters have provided a wide range of MHP-based interactive services such as digital teletext, news information, weather forecasts, audience polling and an EPG. Furthermore, the government seeks to develop "t-government" services in an aim to help bridge the digital divide. Government subsidies are available to encourage households to purchase interactive set-top boxes.
5.6.9 TV Anytime
Formed in 1999, the TV-Anytime Forum's remit was to develop open specifications for interoperable and integrated systems that will allow consumer electronics manufacturers, content creators, telecommunications companies, broadcasters and other service providers to most effectively utilize high-volume digital storage in consumer devices. The group invited international participation from all interested organizations and held meetings in Europe, the Americas and Asia Pacific to ensure the specifications had a truly international relevance.
On July 28 th 2005, the organisation announced it had completed its Personal Video Recorder ( PVR) specifications and has now moved into implementing them through the launch of user groups. The TV-Anytime Forum's ( TVAF) specifications will enable revolutionary new ways for the public to access audio visual programming, preparing the ground for a new generation of consumer devices.
The release of its final, second phase specifications to ETSI, adds significant new functionality to the phase one work published by ETSI in 2003. It also marks an important step change in how content providers and advertisers can now attract the attention of consumers in an increasingly diverse media world.
Next for the TV-Anytime Forum is implementation of its work and it has now launched regional Developers and Users' Groups to help move the industry into this next roll-out phase.
The TV-Anytime specifications now offer all sectors of the industry the tools that will allow consumers to search for, find, select and enjoy the widest possible range of content, from the broadcast, VOD, mobile and IPTV world. These specifications will help in creating a flow of rich metadata from content providers and advertisers, to broadcasters and service providers, and then ultimately to consumers, making the television viewing experience both simpler and richer.
TV-Anytime's main purpose was to provide the industry with open, standard tools that allow interoperability across the entire range of consumer devices. With the release of the phase two specifications they have addressed the needs of advertisers too, as well as many non-linear services.
A group of developers and implementers will now meet with the Forum in Geneva to agree how TV-Anytime can move from the development phase to the implementation and roll out phase. More groups will be meeting regionally to assist implementers.