The number of U.S. households with interactive television (iTV) will grow at an annual rate of 83 percent over the next four years. This will translate into iTV reaching nearly 46 million American homes in 2005, according to the latest findings from new media research/analysis firm Jupiter Media Matrix.
However, the Jupiter report noted that this significant penetration will occur on a regional rather than a national basis, because the infrastructure and technology will not be initially available in every market. Additionally, there’s the issue of different iTV middleware technology platforms (i.e., MicrosoftTV, Liberate, OpenTV, PowerTV), none of which will emerge as the leader within the next two years. Platform developers in the iTV market will share leadership, not own it, predicted Jupiter.
The key for programmers and advertisers is to focus on delivering targeted interactive applications and on realizing the value in regional audiences. "Even though iTV will be a viable platform for developers, content programmers and advertisers alike, the market needs to understand that this audience will be fragmented—by geography and by technology," said Jupiter analyst Lydia Loizides. "Programmers and advertisers looking to target the iTV audience must understand what can be delivered by cable or satellite and plan their initiatives accordingly. Interactive TV programming and services should take shape today for deployment tomorrow."
Jupiter projected that by the end of this year some 7.9 million homes in the U.S. will have iTV. That will increase to 18.4 million in ’02, 30.3 million in ’03, 39.1 million in ’04, and then 45.5 million in ’05.
Jupiter analysts claim that there’s value in moderate experimentation and early entry into the iTV market. Volvo recently wrapped an integrated campaign—in which iTV played an integral role—during the National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament (SHOOT, 3/30, p. 1). The campaign was created and produced by New York agency Messner Vetere Berger McNamee Schmetterer (MVBMS)/Euro RSCG and bicoastal/international iTV strategy and production firm Cylo. It was the first work to spring out of the alliance entered into several months ago (SHOOT, 12/15/00, p. 1) by MVBMS and Cylo in order to develop strategies, models and content that will help advertisers tap into the marketing potential of iTV.
