Participation TV Agreement Between OpenTV and Jupiter Entertainment

2005-09-13 - San Francisco, CA, USA: OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ:OPTV), a digital and interactive television technologies company, has signed of a multi-year license agreement with Japanese cable and satellite TV provider Jupiter Entertainment Co. Ltd., for Jupiter to use OpenTV Participate(TM).

Participate is OpenTV's new participation television solution based on its proprietary UltimateOne(TM) system. OpenTV Participate provides the backbone technology powering Jupiter's new participation channel, Parti TV. Parti TV is expected to be the first live entertainment based viewer participation channel in Japan. This is a significant step forward in the history of television, moving beyond a passive entertainment medium towards real-time audience participation in programming.

The real-time server based platform will handle all Parti TV's viewer transactions. Viewers will be able to interact in real-time with television programming via iMode, the Web, IVR voice telephony, and, in the future, set top boxes. Programming is expected to include quiz show applications and other viewer participation driving content. Viewers will initially be asked to register to interact with PartiTV programming through multiple platforms at any time. OpenTV Participate will provide Parti TV with instantaneous access to participating customers' interactions with Parti TV content.

"This agreement represents a key milestone in the field of participation television," said OpenTV's Chairman and CEO, James A. Chiddix. "Jupiter Entertainment's new Parti TV channel represents the absolute state of the art for participation TV. Their technology requirements were very closely aligned with our vision for the UltimateOne System, and we couldn't have asked for a better partner with whom to launch our newest product. With its ability to offer TV interactivity through multiple devices and platforms, OpenTV Participate is at the cutting edge of OpenTV's enterprise product range."

"Our technology and operations team, which has been involved in many channel launches over the years, including SHOP Channel in Japan, was impressed with the core design of the UltimateOne system and the modular approach they have taken for OpenTV Participate," said Rene Aiu CEO of Parti TV. "We decided to work with OpenTV because of the sophistication and flexibility of the product and because of the superb and dedicated technical team that has an understanding of our vision and needs. We believe OpenTV will be a strong, collaborative partner as we develop our business." The OpenTV Participate solution uses modular Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) based business logic. It is intended as an end-to-end solution for managing participation activities for live and pre-recorded television shows, and it also has capabilities for pre-production activities. The system is fully integrated into the channel's live studio broadcast management systems using industry standard protocols. The system will also feed Parti TV's live computer graphics systems and provide advanced 'Producer' (LiveStat Manager) tools.

Jupiter Entertainment Co. Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jupiter Programming Co. Ltd, a 50-50 joint venture of Liberty Global Inc. and Sumitomo Corporation. Parti TV will be the first live entertainment based viewer participation channel in Japan.

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