INTERACTIVE VIDEO TVI launches plans for ad-supported network

In a one-of-a-kind effort to recoup the cost of delivering interactive video, video carrier Televideo Inc. will work with Nynex sales agent Advanced Digital Networks to build an all-fiber digital video-on-demand network in New York that advertisers will finance.

TVI and ADN will initially string three T-3 lines from a Siemens video server to each apartment building, said Brian Galvin, director of sales and marketing at ADN. From there, the video will be compressed using a proprietary technology and sent over twisted pair to a digital set-top box at each unit. Galvin declined to name the set-top vendor.

The customer will pay nothing for this video service but will be required to fill out a questionnaire when he or she signs up for the service, said Michael Sheppard, chief operating officer at TVI. A 60-second commercial will precede the video the customer requests, and the customer will not be able to access the programming without viewing the ad. The advertiser then pays TVI for the number of times its commercial is watched.

"This is appealing for advertisers because it ensures they're getting the consumers they want," Sheppard said. TVI has already signed up several advertisers, but Sheppard declined to name specific ones.

The two companies will also offer Internet access to the personal computer at a later date, Galvin said.

TVI and ADN will begin offering the service to 150 homes in February 1997, and it will continue its deployment with another 250 homes the following month, Sheppard said, with at least 4000 subscribers expected by the end of 1997.

TVI is also working with Interactive Multimedia Network to build a similar digital fiber network in Ohio, which it expects to reach 1 million to 5 million homes by the year 2000, Sheppard said.