Content-aware Services for Interactive TV John Tinsman Feb 28, 2011

1. Content-aware Services for Interactive TVJohn TinsmanFeb 28, 2011

2. A word from my sponsor … • OpenTV is a world leader providing solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive television • The company’s software has been integrated by more than 80 network operators into more than 145 million digital set-top boxes and digital televisions around the world. • OpenTV’s products enable enhanced program guides, personal video recording, on-demand services, enhanced television, and interactive and addressable advertising. • We are a wholly owned subsidiary of the Kudelski Group, a leading provider of conditional access and related technologies • However, the views expressed today are my own, and don’t necessarily reflect those of my employer.

3. Some historical events in iTV • 1953: Winky Dink lets children draw along (on a screen overlay) • 1959: NBC has the first audience participation by phone • 1970: The BBC sends messages in the VBI that will become teletext • 1977: Qube launches the first interactive TV service on 30 channels. • 1988: BBC launches a children’s show that lets them call in and suggest a continuation of the story line. The best ideas are used. • 1993: Modern Teletext services are launched in the UK • 1994: UK Channel 4 links internet chat room comments to Teletext pages • 1996: Television par Satellite (TPS) launches the first fully interactive digital TV service. Shortly after, Canal+ does the same. • 2006: Comcast runs a large scale trial of addressable advertising • 2008 & 2010: NBC provides multi-platform interactivity around the Olympics

4. Interactivity in the viewer experience • Inform – Interactive experience can augment or complement on-screen action • Background info and fun facts • dynamic data feeds of related information • Engage – Viewers can actively participate • Producers can adapt the interactive experience in real time to grab the audience • Polls, quizzes, live results, moderated community commentary • Increasingly it’s about building content-based viewer communities • Promote– Targeted advertising, user-driven content choices, advertiser follow-up • all based on individual and group behavior across geographical areas, programs, channels, and devices, and web sites.

5. Traditional STB-based Interactive TV Services • What was a basic access and navigation device became a means to further monetize the viewer relationship • Electronic Program guides • Arguably the world’s most popular TV app • One way (local) interactivity with some ads • Interactive programs • Interactivity synced to the program’s timeline • Both informational and engagement – users can respond • May include play-along, commentary and betting • Interactive advertising • Any response is much more valuable than an impression • But increasingly, broadcasters are also going direct to viewers

6. A 1-screen interactive TV example • Bravo’s “Shear Genius” reality TV competition • Voting, viewer commentary and fun facts • UI provides opportunities for show and product branding • Interactivity done using on-air CG and SMS for responses

7. A 2-screen example • NBC 2010 Winter Olympics • Viewers could rate the skater, see the bios, and follow the line up • Viewer’s rating was compared to judges and other viewers

8. Content Awareness in Conventional iTV • For digital TV services • The set top box / decoder receives guide data and program information • Basic info is time, channel, and a program description • Virtually all common platforms deliver content metadata and triggers via the broadcast • Little or no awareness for analog signals (maybe VBI or CC) • Accuracy in triggers is often difficult • iTV play out follows a different path than AV in the head end • Video encoding & stat mux can create variable relative delays • Frame accuracy requires tight integration – each MSO is different • Set top boxes have limitations • They are often older technologies in the US with limited capabilities • Frequently, they don’t/can’t share with other devices

9. What’s Changing: Devices and Distribution • Smart TVs • An ever increasing number of display devices are smarter than the decoders they are hooked to. • But the decoder is still required in many cases as an access device • Broadband and browser enabled TVs are becoming the norm • Broadcasters want to reach out and touch their audience directly • Requires potentially complex negotiation and integration per MSO • Multi-device and multi-screen experiences • IPads and iPhones are already uses as remotes and displays • Alternate delivery: OTT and content slinging • Multi-room and multi-device access becoming much more common • Video “sampling”, user generated meta-content, social networking

10. Companion Experiences • Applications like Shazam let users ID the music they hear • They have started promotions with stores based on music tags • Companies such as i.tv and Dijit offer EPG and universal remote functionality for iPhones/iPads • IMDB is just one step away … • IntoNow offers an iPhone app to ID TV content using audio fingerprinting • They have combined this with social networking so users can share what they are “into now” • Major content providers are all running Twitter and Facebook accounts for their franchises • “The only thing people like more than watching TV is talking about it.”

11. Companion Apps • An iPhone remote with EPG (Dijit) • Audio fingerprint and social media sharing (IntoNow)

12. Smart TVs as Interactive Platforms • Many large flat panel TVs are broadband-enabled • Major brands also have some sort of browser/widget capability • Netflix, Hulu, other services are available directly on the TV • All major smart TV deployments combined could rival the installed base of STBs at some major cable operators by the end of 2011 • Major smart TV brands offer or plan to offer “app stores” to deploy new applications • Problem: the TVs don’t know what they are showing • AV arrives on HDMI or component • Zero metadata and no triggers • Coordination between an app on the TV and the incoming STB content requires such knowledge • And tight timing for frame accurate applications • Is there an efficient solution for embedded computing?

13. SmartTV Example Recommendations My Gallery Samsung Confidential 13

14. The role of advertising in US TV • Total TV advertising in the US was about $82 billion in 2009 • Direct advertising of ~15 min/hour • Brand appearances during another 10 minutes/hour • Content promotion is also key for content providers • Clutter and signal-to-noise are issues • Targeted and engaging advertising is more valuable • More eyeballs for more minutes is helpful up to a point • But reaching and keeping the right audience is critical • Interactivity in programs can double the response rate in ads • Uplift can be 50-400% • Advertisers want more options and more accountability • What did I get, and what was its impact?

15. Addressable Content Delivery • Reaching the desired audience • Geographic or demographic segmentation • Presenting the right content to the right segment, notably ads • Requires the ability to replace ads in real time • And on a device-by-device basis • May require local storage of replacement ads • Should work on stored or broadcast content • Splices must be very nearly frame accurate • Content ID on a frame by frame basis is needed • Enabler for ad replacement • Provides audience measurement and verification • Accuracy must be excellent for ads and measurement

16. What kinds of fingerprints? • Audio is common, such as Nielsen, Spot411, and IntoNow • Time to “lock” can be long: 4-12 seconds • Ability to track the media timeline may be an issue • Compute power to index and fingerprint may be substantially lower • Sub-second tracking highly desirable for interactivity • One second might be OK in TV programs • Must be better for interactive ads, which might be only 15 or 30 seconds • A big potential driver is frame accurate splicing • Advertisers want to do ad replacement • Both audio and video fingerprinting have a role to play • No one technical approach may be sufficient • How will metadata be exchanged and shared?

17. Immediate use: Interactive Programs and Ads • Content ID provides synchronization • Device-based sync may be the quickest solutions • Apps tied to content • auto-start and follow associated content whenever and wherever that content is viewed. • Product placement tracking • Can I find every piece of media that presents or references a given product? • After the basics • Content search and recommendation • Can my app help me find other content like what I’ve watched • Can I search at the program level, but also at the chapter and scene level? • Travelocity meets Google for content • Is Netflix a pay TV operator? • If content is king, metadata is the queen

18. Metadata generation, fusion and access • Indexing is the first step • Content producers can make indices and some information available • People with indices can be an early potent source of metadata • Future interactive apps will draw upon both official and alternate metadata sources • User installed and operated companion apps have wider latitude in what they can do. • As with the Web, every new access point provides an opportunity to monetize the viewer relationship. • What will the standards be for describing TV related content? • Cloud based methods provide both server and client scalability • More sophisticated services on less expensive devices • Multi-platform audience measurement comes for free

19. Conclusions • There is future growth in interaction around TV, not just with TV • IMDB, Twitter, Facebook … • Many-to-many in place of the one-to-many of traditional pay TV. • Traditional vertical delivery of interactivity has limitations • Walled gardens are struggling to keep up with new media consumption • New connected devices offer opportunities for horizontal growth • Cloud-based services enable new access and consumption patterns • Scalability, synchronization and awareness within and across devices is key to new experiences • Advertising related services are an immediate win • Addressable and companion services provide new ways to create and monetize viewer relationships

20. Thank You for your time