MARINSCOPE – Aug 21st, 2000
by Karen Forini – Staff Writer
It’s not your grandfather’s Internet connection.
It’s only 18 months old, but MetaTV, a Sausalito company with ties to the most prominent high-tech firms, is determined to change the way you view the Internet – and while they’re at it, television as well.
“Interactive television gives people the ability to purchase items on their television, surf the net, play games,” said Ramon Chen, MetaTV’s vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “You know when it says ‘enhanced TV’ at the bottom of the screen during ‘Who wants a Millionaire?’ With Interactive Television, you can play along while watching.”
Of course, the concept of the Web access via television isn’t new; WebTV mines the popular market, but it is quite different from MetaTV. “WebTV is an appliance that you can purchase and can browse the Internet via TV on a telephone line; we design and implement software via cable lines,” explains Chen. “Today, you have a cable connection in your home, but you can’t use it (for Net access).”
MetaTV enables consumers to use the cable line for Internet access, and the difference is dramatic; the cable connection, Chen says is “lightning fast,” a marked contrast to the comparatively sluggish telephone line. “The infrastructure is now in place to support these speeds – even five years ago, it wasn’t.”
And using the TV over the computer has certain advantages, Chen notes. “You have a focused audience, they watch television every day. Despite the proliferation of personal computers, TV is still predominant.” And that is a good thing indeed for Web merchants working with MetaTV: “T-commerce, television commerce, is going to overtake [conventional commerce]. QVC, the Shopping Channel – they all watch TV, right?”
One aspect of the business is creating portals for customers. Portal, Chen says “is a fancy term for windows – Yahoo is a huge portal. Any Web page can be defined as a portal.” MetaTV can create portals specifically for television to improve the “iTV” sites of e-businesses, enhancing their offerings to take advantage of the new technology.
The first global provider of such services, MetaTV has attracted a startling range of supporters; Doug Carlston, founder of Broderbund, is on the board, as is William Esrey, chairman and CEO of Sprint.
The kind of business that use the company range from established web sites like E!Online to television networks to satellite system operators. While e-businesses are looking to improve their Web site, the network, cable and satellite companies are aiming to enrich the services they provide to consumers.
Either way, the consumer wins. At lightening speed.