Why Should Programmers and Broadcasters Care About EBIF?

Simple answer? Because it's a way to make your programming better. More participatory, more immersive. It lets you include a clickable thing, into a show or an ad, that's editorially complementary to the content.

Programming enhanced with interactivity has been proven to significantly driving ratings -- which drive CPMs. It lets you engage your viewing audiences with additional content dimensions that aren't otherwise available in a linear video environment.

Just ask Starz Entertainment, an earlier EBIF pioneer. It built an EBIF app that lets viewers tune to related content and additional showings.

Or Showtime, another EBIF pioneer, which applied EBIF to its Showtime HD broadcast of the "Strikeforce Challengers Mixed Martial Arts" boxing showdown in February, 2010—and that's just one of a growing suite of Showtime EBIF apps.

NBC Universal used EBIF to augment the 2010 Olympic Games with three clickable elements: Medal Count, Top Stories, and Athlete Bios.

And, Home Shopping Network (HSN) is up with an EBIF app that lets TV viewers click to shop with their remote control, instead of calling or going online.

How Do Content Owners Get Into EBIF?

As an agent of the nation's major cable companies, Canoe Ventures will at least initially be the contact point for placing iTV offerings into national programming.

In that sense, Canoe will enable content partners and their marketing clients, to build iTV applications that reach cable viewers all over the country, no matter which cable operator services your geographic areas of interest.

Canoe's network relations team works with programmers and content owners to enable iTV products for them, and their clients. Canoe's comprehensive "on-boarding" program for programmers includes:

  • assessment of entire operations for EBIF readiness
  • on-boarding processes to ensure involved technical systems are upgraded and fully integrated
  • business process counsel and updates
  • thorough training of sales and operations personnel

Likewise, Canoe offers its programmer partners access to its iTV platform, an automated sales management system, and consultative services for creating and executing a compelling iTV campaign.

Want more info? Find us here: learnmore@canoe-ventures.com