UK Internet Portals Look To Digital TV For The Future
AOL and Lycos have voiced their enthusiasm for putting their online services on digital television in the UK.
A spokesperson for AOL told NewsLine: “An awful lot of households have got digital television and while the usage is still relatively low, it represents a huge opportunity. The medium clearly has potential in the long run.”
Interaction, convergence and cross-platform multi-media programming has become increasingly popular in the light of the recent Big Brother phenomenon (see Big Brother’s Cross-Media Platforms Deliver Audience). Many commentators now view convergence as a key principle in the development of digital media, suggesting a future in which content could be distributed across a single network to a single device.
However, Alex Kovach, managing director of Lycos UK and Ireland, has some reservations. He said: “Convergence is a long way off and talk of it is sometimes overblown. User behaviour whilst watching TV compared with when using the internet is very different. Watching TV is essentially passive, the level of activity involved in using the internet is totally different.”
Kovach views the internet as Lycos’ main focus, but he also sees the potential for some of Lycos’ services to flourish on the digital television platform. He added: “We are in the process of looking to put some of our online communities, such as Lycos Chat on digital TV. It is undoubtedly an important growth area and no UK portal has entered the medium. It is only a matter of time before we see services launching on [interactive TV].”
Michael Aldridge, lead product manager for Microsoft Windows, agrees. He said: “You’re going to see a lot of these technologies that were considered fringe internet areas maturing to the point where the quality levels help start them to get integrated into mainstream mediums such as television.”
Research from the London Business School shows that the penetration of interactive TV now stands at over 50% of digital homes, giving advertisers access to 19% of the UK’s adult population. The study also suggests that interactive advertising has a “high potential” for targeting and for generating a convenient direct response from viewers (see 19% Of UK Adults Have Interactive Digital TV, Says Report).
Lycos: 020 7881 6500 www.lycos.co.uk AOL: 020 7348 8000 www.aol.co.uk
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