Interactive television service Open has announced plans for expansion following a recent report citing the growth potential of TV commerce. The report, by market research company BMRB, said that people feel more comfortable purchasing through their TV sets than through computers (see TV Shopping Is Proving More Popular Than Online, Says BMRB).
Expansion plans include increasing its broadcast capacity from the current 68Mb to 136Mb to accommodate future development. The number of retail shops live on the service will be increased from 22 to 50 by the end of the year, and new services like betting and online auctions are being developed.
Open, which is jointly owned by BSkyB, BT, HSBC and Matsushita, launched in October last year (see Newsline). Available on the SkyDigital platform it has access to 2.6 million homes. BMRB’s research said that 7% of SkyDigital customers had already made a purchase through the service.
James Ackerman, chief executive of Open, said: “Open has already set the standard for interactive TV but we are now moving the service into a new era with double the content and fresh services daily.”
BSkyB: 020 7332 7000
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