Cable challenges IPTV with interactive TV push

Time Warner Cable today expanded its relationship with application provider itaas to support development of new interactive applications. As cable competes with IPTV for IP-enabled features and services, the vendor’s istart developer program, including Mystro Application Server (MAS) software support, will be made available to developers as a central location for launching apps on TWC’s interactive TV (ITV) service.

Expanding on its existing relationship with the cableco, itaas will now also manage the licensing, installation and upgrades for the MAS software, as well as offer Software Development Kits for TWC’s in-house interactive program guides, Mystro Digital Navigator (MDN) and OCAP Digital Navigator (ODN).

The istart program works across all major interactive platforms, including tru2way, Cisco’s Sara/Power TV, OCAP Axiom and the ETV platform from TVWorks, a joint venture of Comcast and Cox Communication. The program provides the tools and support for programmers and app developers to take an interactive app from concept through to integration and testing across multiple devices. The program will help TWC jumpstart its ITV service by bringing the development community into the fold, according to Gerry Kaufhold, principal analyst with In-Stat.

“One of the big questions was if you have this infrastructure that can deliver interactive TV, what apps do you deliver? If it’s going to be only Time Warner and Comcast engineers developing the apps, it limits the number of apps you can write in a year,” Kaufhold said. “Time Warner and Comcast can’t do it alone. They needed to bring in developers and make it open.”

TWC is also the charter sponsor of ODEN, the OCAP/EBIF Developer Network, designed to promote ITV app development. Today, fellow cablecos Bright House Networks, Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications and Liberty Global announced they have joined the effort as well. The additional sponsorship will help ODEN improve its online developer community and bolster its ITV push, which they need to do to keep up with the IPTV industry, Kaufhold said.

He described the cablecos and IPTV operators as in a footrace. TWC has had a lot of success with its Start Over video on-demand service and Naviq interactive advertising app, while IPTV providers have led the way with Microsoft Mediaroom features, including Mosaic, which lets consumers pick their top six favorite TV shows and display them on one screen.

“As a consumer, this is exciting because the one thing consumers don’t want to do now is spend more money,” Kaufhold said. “So if operators can come up with new features that don’t cost more money, that’s a good thing. From a cable operator’s point of view, new features will make them money because they can sell ads where they do get paid upstream.”