OpenTV Extends Its Relationship with BSkyB

Interactive TV and advanced advertising technology provider, OpenTV, said Monday that it has extended its relationship with BSkyB, which has been one of its key customers since the launch of its digital satellite TV service back in 1998. According to the company, Sky has licensed its patents and other intellectual property rights to support ongoing development of its digital TV platform, and the companies will now work on a proof of concept which--if successful--could lead to the deployment of Core3, the next generation of OpenTV's flagship middleware platform, on Sky's set-top boxes.

When it launched Core3 at the IBC show in Amsterdam last month, OpenTV said that it would be available to select customers by mid-2010. According to the company, the platform is "engineered to enable technology choice by operators" and combines a "top-to-bottom open architecture" with a unique design that simplifies the integration and deployment of "everything from complex user interfaces to consumer services and application widgets." The company claims that it accelerates the deployment of third-party applications, and features support for HTML/JavaScript, Adobe Flash, and "industry standards demanded by the marketplace." It will also offer an adaptable framework, the company promises, that will enable operators to easily support new features and functionalities that may emerge in the future, and also to tailor their offerings based on local market requirements. In addition, it says that the platform's "unique degree of openness" will allow pay-TV operators and third parties to innovate and "leverage the most powerful tools for creating compelling user experiences without hindering engineering efforts and initiatives."

OpenTV's intellectual property portfolio consists of over 700 US and international patents, and the company says that many other patents are pending. "OpenTV and Sky have built a strong relationship over the last ten years," OpenTV CEO, Ben Bennett, said in a prepared statement. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to enhance our relationship by combining IP licensing with technology provision. Sky continues to be at the forefront of digital TV innovation, and we are pleased to continue to fully support this important customer." Added Roger Lambert, Sky's director of customer technology: "At Sky, we're continuously striving to bring our customers the best service possible by investing in high-quality content and cutting-edge product innovation. This new agreement with OpenTV underpins our strategy of continuous product innovation. OpenTV continues to be one of our key partners and we look forward to exploring how we might develop our relationship further."