NEW ORLEANS, May 6, 2002 — Today at Cable 2002, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) annual convention, Microsoft Corp. announced that 1,500 companies in 70 countries have joined the Microsoft® TV Developer Program since January 2002. With its industry-leading tools and resources, the Microsoft TV Developer Program has attracted new member companies ranging from traditional TV programmers and software and hardware manufacturers to systems integrators and service providers. Leading companies, including Caiman Technologies Ltd., Everstream Inc., MetaTV Inc., Nielsen Media Research and Predictive Networks, are among the members making extensive use of the programs resources.
“We at Nielsen Media Research continually seek to enhance the value and precision of our audience measurement products in interactive settings,”
said Bill Feininger, director of software metering technologies for Nielsen Media Research.
“We view Microsoft TV as a target interactive television (iTV) platform, so we wanted to include its supported technologies in our development process. Having joined the Microsoft TV Developer Program at the Platform level, we now have access to the software, documentation and support that we need to develop new applications, and we are using the programs extensive resources in building the next generation of our metering and data aggregation tools and technologies.”
“The diversity of companies participating in the Microsoft TV Developer Program reflects the growing appeal of iTV as a new medium for delivering programming and services to consumers,”
said Alan Yates, general manager of marketing for the Microsoft TV Division at Microsoft.
“Microsofts commitment to the iTV industry extends beyond just providing great software. We are taking the extra step to make sure the content and services consumers will demand are available.”
“Microsoft has demonstrated its typical developer-friendly attitude in the reincarnation of the Microsoft TV Developer Program. This brings a much-needed breath of fresh air into the customarily very secretive and protective television world,”
said Rich Zimmerman, vice president of engineering for Predictive Networks.
“By locating all the documentation, software, support information and knowledge base into a single, easily navigated Web site, Microsoft has made Microsoft TV the best-supported and easiest-to-develop on platform in the industry.”
“We believe our alignment with Microsoft TV and our support for its platform is an important component of our product and service offering,”
said Charlie Lougheed, chief technology officer for Everstream.
“Being a Platform-level member of the Microsoft TV Developer Program gives us the ability to not only have a deep understanding of the Microsoft TV system architecture but to also serve the cable and broadband industry with key insight into comprehensive next-generation on-demand and iTV solutions.”
The Microsoft TV Developer Program offers three membership tiers, each with a unique set of tools and resources. Members of the three-tiered Microsoft TV Developer Program benefit from advanced iTV technology and development tools.
At the Introductory level, members obtain weekly updates of code samples, tools, technical articles and self-paced training modules that are posted to the programs Web site.
At the Client and Platform Levels, members obtain code, documentation and product support for current Microsoft TV products, in addition to the opportunity to provide input and participate in beta programs for products currently in development. Member companies at these levels also can purchase set-top boxes from Microsoft TV original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners OctalTV SA and Pace Micro Technology plc to create applications, test their content and evaluate their iTV solutions in a real-time setting.
“DotOnTheBox is committed to providing answers to the challenges of bringing the experience of interactive television to audiences worldwide,”
said Tiago Silva, managing director of DotOnTheBox, Interactive Multimedia Solutions SA.
“For all the development and integration projects we are engaged in, we have found participating in the Microsoft TV Developer Program to be highly valuable. The support, help, documentation and periodic updates enable us to deliver proven and tested solutions to our clients.”
In addition to the companies mentioned above, the Microsoft TV Developer Program includes iTV, broadcast and media companies from around the world, such as British Broadcasting Co., Beyond Z Interactive Media, Bloomberg Television, Buzztime Entertainment Inc., Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Chyron Corp., Cylo, ExtendMedia Inc., Gotham Broadband, Intellocity USA Inc., Macromedia Inc., Pushy Broad and Two Way TV Ltd.
About the Microsoft TV Developer Program
With active members in more than 70 countries, the Microsoft TV Developer Program brings together companies across the television and technology industries to create interactive television (iTV) programming, services and applications that run on the Microsoft TV platform, and supports iTV hardware vendors, systems integrators and more. The Microsoft TV Developer Program provides a tiered membership system that allows companies of any size or interest in iTV to participate. Members receive the latest tools, training and support to further their development efforts. More information about Microsoft TV and the Microsoft TV Developer Program can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/tv/.
About Microsoft TV
Microsoft TV is a family of standards-based, client and server software products that enables the delivery of iTV services through cable, terrestrial and satellite networks. The Microsoft TV platform supports a variety of TV devices including the full range of set-top boxes and allows network operators to provide new revenue-generating services including video on demand, electronic program guides, digital video recording, enhanced programming, e-mail and more. More than 1,500 leading providers of services, programming, hardware and software for iTV have chosen to work with Microsoft TV. A leader in the iTV industry, Microsoft is deployed or in trial today with network operators in North and South America, Europe and Israel. More information about Microsoft TV can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/tv/ .
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
Microsoft and the Microsoft TV logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsofts corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Journalists and analysts may contact Microsofts Rapid Response Team for additional assistance.
