Business Roundtable: Report 21
Interactive TV
Prague, 14th of July 2004
On July 14th, 2004ACTeN's 21th Business Round Table on Interactive TV - content, platforms and services will be held in Prague, Czech Republic. Topic was the new possibilities in content production offered by the Interactive, digital and iTV platforms. This BRT brought together TV and multimedia producers, TV broadcasters and researches to discuss the new possibilities offered by the digital and iTV platforms for producing interactive content. The BRT was organised by the Technology Centre of the Academy of Sciences in the Czech Republic and held in the Film and TV school, FAMU, in Prague.
Roundtable participants:
Jak Boumans, NL - moderator (consultant for Electronic Media Reporting)
Frank Alsema, NL (TV producer and director of iTV programmes)
Sohvi Sirkesalo FI (teacher at Tampere polytechnic University )
Stanislav Miler CZ (TV and Multimedia producer)
Geska Andersson SWE (researcher at Interactive Institute in Sweden)
Martin Schlingmann SWE (Interactive Institute Sweden)
Chris Hales UK (Interactive film artist and teacher )
Jan Rubes CZ (Head of Programme Acquisitions in Czech TV)
Petr Vitek CZ (Head of System Engineering in Czech TV)
Jiri Unzeiting CZ (Consultant for research and strategy Gity)
Petr Benes CZ (Editor in Chief for Convergence magasine)
Martin Havlicek CZ (Acquisition manager for Prima TV)
Jaroslav Jansa CZ (expert on Digital TV and wireless technologies)
Marcin Grybowski PL (author of TV voleyball show – an award winning application for planning interactive sports programmes)
The Business Round Table was attended by participants of INYOP – Interactive film and game course (www.inyop.org) as well as interested parties.
The issues discussed were:
- What is the current situation in the new EU member states in the area of digital TV and iTV platforms, content and services?
- What are the current digital and iTV platforms used in the EU?
- What are the successful business models behind Interactive and digital TV?
- What are the new tools for creating content for the digital and iTV?
- What are the new possibilities for e-learning and continuous education offered by TV digitalisation and iTV?
- What is the new content and services offered by digital and iTV platforms?
The BRT was organised at the beginning of the INYOP Summer School for Young Professionals in Interactive Film and Games, the organisers took the advantage to invite many of the tutors of the course as participants. In this way it was possible to get views on the situation in six countries: Czech Republic, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland and The Netherlands. The beginning of the Summer School also offered the opportunity to hear the visions of creative professionals on the production for interactive television. Frank Alsema, a Dutch independent TV producer and director of iTV programmes, showed examples of several interactive programmes.
Provisionary conclusions are:
- Interactive digital television in Europe has only gained a critical mass in the UK.
- The varience in cut-off deadlines for analogue television do not present an incentive for producers to massively turn to interactive programs.
- Since TV plays a big role in society, there has not been a political will to free more channels to independent TV broadcasters.
- In several countries such as the Czech Republic interactive digital television is a political issue.
- Many of the new member states do not have a law for digital television.
- Usually the frequency is available. The Czech Republic, for example, has a frequency available to run only 2 multiplexes.
- But even if frequency is available, there is a question about the use of the channels.
- There are various protocols around, which make productions more expensive.
- Presently mostly enhanced television programs are produced.
- Essential for interactive digital television is the return channel.
- Interactive films are not yet part of the offer for the audience.
- Interactive digital television will not be limited to distribution by cable and satellite, but also by broadband (ADSL, FttH).
The BRT was concluded with a discussion on the impact of iDTV on the new EU members. The authors of the E-Content Report 7 on Interactive Digital Television in Europe (see: http://www.acten.net/uploads/images/425/IDTV.pdf) estimate that the new EU members can save time and money implementing iDTV, using the experience of other EU countries. However they see diminished changes for the new EU members to be actors in the field of iDTV technology and production:
Impact on NAS countries
After the 1st of May 2004 the number of EC member countries has increased to 25 by ten new members. Many of the countries haven’t confirmed yet their plans for the launching of digital terrestrial TV and analog network shutdown schedule. Also digitalization of cable and satellite networks is still under progress. This difference of development schedules divides EC to two different categories, which has both positive and negative impacts. First, NAS countries are able to use other EC countries experiences as a learning point.
They don’t have to be in a pioneers’ role and this will speed up their digitalization (save time and resources). Also they are able to acquire tested and well functioning value added services and concepts from different countries, which again enhance digitalization. On the other hand present IDTV actors has a competitive advantage due to the schedule difference. This competitive advantage diminishes NAS country based companies business opportunities and ability to expand other regions of Europe.
The participants tended to disagree with this position and pointed to the fact that the BRT was being held in the city where the first interactive movie Kinoautomat was conceived. Creativity is not the domain of pioneers. A participant pointed to the fact, that interactive digital television is not limited to the home only. It will also be part of the automotive industry.
More info: Technology centre Academy of Sciences CR : http://www.tc.cz/acten; contact: Eva Hillerova hillerova@tc.cas.cz
BRT 21 - Full report
