Having seen the iTV Doctor’s session at TVOT (ACR panel) I realised that the significance of the Companion Screen is much underestimated by the traditional Broadcasters & Network Operators who have moved sluggishly in the traditional middleware space.
A product that can, if well integrated into the TV Show, become a truly value-added part of the TV experience. I believe the Companion Screen can only be the new paradigm that is interactive TV. I recently bought an iPAD – I know! A little late to the game…but here’s the thing…My 5 year old runs it intuitively. She watches videos on it, she plays games and she is learning languages with it! For her it is fun and she has not a care regarding the technology. Just tie that fun together with her favourite TV shows and you can see how it will make it educational. With that aspect we will have solved one part of ‘meaningful business’ in Interactive. I would pay to go interactive with these benefits.
The only downer on the TVOT presentation that left me disappointed was one of the panelists showing a ‘Order Pizza’ as part of the Social Media demo – OH NO! Not the ‘Order a Pizza before the show button! We have griped about this for years as we ALL have been guilty of showing this since the 1990s and is a little too cliche…but then again the presenter was fresh out of school!
I truly believe that we are starting to see the “secret sauce of interactivity” and it is for me the Companion Screen all the way – A combination of ACR, Apps and Synchronisation that hwill truly give an immersive service, befitting of today’s multimedia world.
I am excited again!
Tvangelist 