In conjunction with Walt Disney Internet Group’s Enhanced TV division (ETV), Ford Motors and Wink Communications, ABC Sports will produce Web and interactive TV programming for the 2003 Bowl Championship Series football games.
Wink, a subsidiary of OpenTV, will provide interactive elements, including a real-time statistics application, during four telecasts. Ford’s “Play of the Game” will sponsor the interactive programming, which will be available at ESPN.com and directly through Wink TV set-top boxes during the Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Fiesta Bowl.
ETV’s application includes the “Prime Time Player” game, which allows users to predict the outcome of each play as it happens and earn points for correct choices. In addition to an interactive database of game, player and team statistics, the online programming will include enhanced graphics and trivia synchronous to the action, plus a sweepstakes.
“It’s exciting to work together with ABC and Ford to build new television viewing experiences,” said James Ackerman, CEO of OpenTV. “Sports programming has been one of the most successful avenues for introducing interactivity, and we believe that bowl game viewers will enjoy the interactive enhancements powered by Open TV’s Wink service.”
Through Open TV’s Wink service, Ford can gauge viewer response and interaction. Viewers with Wink boxes can also access detailed program information with a remote control.
E-mail marketer BoldFish has picked up financial communications provider Forefield as a customer. BoldFish will power Forefield’s e-mail alerts and automated e-mail marketing campaigns, which primarily deliver market data to financial advisors and institutions.
“The value of a financial advisor increases in direct proportion to the frequency of contact with the client,” said Brent Delehey, Forefield’s chief executive. “BoldFish provided us with an extremely cost-effective solution that enables us to keep financial advisors informed of changes in the market as they happen.”
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