VIRTUAL TELEVISION STATIONS

VIRTUAL TELEVISION STATIONS. Virtual television stations distribute
digital video and audio through the Internet to groups of
viewers. With broadband digital video access, the Internet will
become a new avenue of distribution for broadcasters that hope
to target previously unreachable mobile audiences.
Since 1999, there has been growing public interest in interactive
TV (iTV). This has been led by satellite and cable systems
deploying subscriber equipment and infrastructure capable of
delivering a variety of interactive services. Some of these early
interactive functions include an electronic program guide (EPG)
and parental control through channel-locking features. A type of
one-way datacasting on virtual television stations allows viewers to
choose from limited, primarily text-based, supplementary content.
Other virtual television features and functions may include
game or quiz show audience participation. These features and
functions all present new opportunities as well as challenges to
programmers, advertisers, and providers of interactive services
as they navigate through a maze of complex platform landscapes
defined by a complicated mix of networks, set-top boxes,
and software. It’s projected that 35 percent of U.S. households
(over 25 million homes) will use some form of interactive TV
services by the end of 2005.