Interactive digital television
Interactive digital television (iDTV)has now been used in Europe for nearly ten years to
deliver broadcasting to homes and offer new interactive services. In France, Canal Plus
launched iDTV in 1996, Télévision par satellite launched in 1997 and Spain, Italy and
Germany have had these facilities since 1996 or 1997. In the UK, levels of access to inter-
active digital TV rival those of the Internet. All three main new media are tracked by the
MORI Technology Tracker (www.e-mori.co.uk) (Figure 2.16). The importance of digital
TV is indicated by these figures, which in 2005 were equal to Internet access at 60%
household penetration.
Interactive digital TV offers similar e-commerce facilities to the Internet, but is pro-
vided with a simpler interface with more limited content that can be operated from a
remote control. The amount of information available from providers is lower because of
limited bandwidth shared between channels.
Table 3.3 summarises the proposition for interactive digital TV. It is evident that it is
more similar to PC-based Internet access than to mobile access. A key difference is that
TV viewing is more likely to involve several members of a family while PC usage is more
individual. This may cause conflict in use of some individualised iDTV services.Curry (2001) has proposed three alternative types of interactivity that online
marketers can exploit:1 Distribution interactivity. Here the user controls when the content is delivered. Video-
on-demand is an example of this. Using personal video recorders such as Sky+ or
TiVO is a further example, since users can choose to watch content at a later time and
possibly omit adverts.
2 Information interactivity. Here the user can select different information. Curry gives the
example of teletext and games which are, together, the most popular interactive TV
activity. A further example is where a viewer of an advert can access a microsite with
further information on the advert (known as ‘red button advertising’ in the UK).
Information can be exchanged via a return pathsuch as entering a competition. This
provides an improved option for direct response advertising in comparison to tradi-
tional TV. An example is given in Mini Case Study 3.2: ‘Volvo encourages viewers to
“Press Red” for their “Mystery of Dalaro” campaign’. Interaction with interactive TV is
often combined with text messaging in quiz and reality TV programmes.
3 Participation activity. This is where the user can select different options during a pro-
gramme such as choosing a different camera angle in a football match or different
news stories. There is no return path in this case.CHAPTER 3· THE INTERNET MACRO-ENVIRONMENT
Interactive digital
TV (iDTV)
Television displayed
using a digital signal
delivered by a range of
media – cable, satellite,
terrestrial (aerial).
Interactions can be
provided through phone
line or cable service.
Table 3.3Summary of interactive digital TV consumer propositionElement of proposition Evaluation
Instant access/convenience Interactive services are available quite rapidly, but return path
connections using phone lines for purchase are slower
Personalisation This is less practical for PC and mobile since there are usually
several viewers
Security Credit card details can be held by the iDTV provider, making it
theoretically unnecessary to repeatedly enter personal detailsReturn path
An interaction where
the customer sends
information to the iDTV
provider using a phone
line or cable.