• by Paul Gough , June 6, 2004

Has interactive television reached the tipping point? A report by a New York-based consultancy seems to suggest that it has.

Even as the upfront has been going on for the past three weeks, BrightLine Partners says that a growing number of marketers are both buying for the new television season and trying to prepare for the future. What's not likely to occur in the future is a continued primary focus on the 30-second commercial. BrightLine Partners says that marketers have been exploring interactive TV options for the past 18 months as a way to engage viewers and better target consumers.

"Advertisers looking to segment audiences view iTV as a potential way to blend the benefits of mass reach with highly targeted messages to drive hyper-performance in their television ad campaigns," BrightLine Partners said in its summer 2004 quarterly report on Interactive Television Advertising. Advertisers are also using interactive direct response and on-demand long-form advertising to target consumers.

BrightLine continues to see more content providers putting resources into interactive television, including ABC ESPN and Turner along with single-screen enhanced programming in GSN.

"Many networks are actively experimenting with, and deploying, new advertising formats to harness the potential of VOD platforms to pass on the enhanced value of their digital services to advertisers," BrightLine said.

The third point of the triangle is the delivery systems, cable and satellite. Both are pushing interactive television as a way to bring more value to consumers and to get more money out of their substantial investment.

"Every major stakeholder participating in the reemergence of iTV--i.e., multiple cable system operators (MSOs), direct broadcast satellite (DBS), providers, programmers, and marketers--are experiencing a heavy motivation to push interactive technologies farther into the mainstream of television viewing," the report said.