TV Server and Commerce Server

Renato Cotrim: Microsoft TV Server (MSTV) enables operators to build, deliver and manage interactive television and commerce services. It is a flexible solution that helps network operators optimize their revenue every step in their way, allows them to create segments for new services throughout their current business platform based on their own needs and goals.

Microsoft Commerce Server can manage advertising campaigns (create, manage, and develop them), all through an easy-to-use web-style interface known as a Business Desktop. Microsoft Commerce Server has advanced targeting capabilities that allow you to deliver ads based on different grouping profiles, and thus increase the value of the advertising delivered. Microsoft TV Server has created interfaces for working with Commerce Server that allow you to use segmentation capabilities in interactive television (ITV) applications.

RC: MSTV offers the newest opportunities to generate new revenue in many areas, for example, through new subscription services such as DVR (Digital Video Recording), video on demand, Internet access, commerce through television and new forms of segmented advertising with CPM. In addition to personalized advertising, servers allow you to offer shopping and trading services.

RC: ITV services are expected to generate millions of dollars in revenue for network operators around the world. Specifically, countries that have low computer penetration will benefit greatly from having, through the TV, the services that allow them to surf the Internet, talk to friends, send emails, and best of all, get the educational and entertainment added value that ITV services create. We are already seeing the success of services such as personal banking at home with TV Cabo. In the UK, companies are making money by offering interactive games. And in Latin America there have been some successful cases with services that allow the viewer to watch football matches and choose different camera angles. All of these services will provide more revenue opportunities for network operators.

RC: ITV has penetrated more slowly in some markets than in others for several reasons: First, the low penetration of computers in some countries creates a great demand for Internet services through other types of units such as televisions.

ITV is more natural for some cultures where it has always been presented to provide services such as weather forecasts and travel guides. Europe is a great example of this with the use of services such as Teletext and Minitel.

The economic slowdown has affected the development of ITV on a global scale, however MSTV is committed to the market and working with leading companies such as Globo Cabo and Cablevision on new projects. MSTV is also working with content providers, streaming tool creators and OEMs, to help build an industry that shelters them all, MSTV is directing these efforts in Latin America while other competitors are pulling out.

In general, ITV projects are necessarily complex and involve a large number of companies (system and data integrators, network operators, content and video developers, banks, conditional access companies and many others), Microsoft is a good alliance option because we are one of the companies that delivers greater value to the industry not only for MSTV products, but by the group of partners with whom we offer greater benefits to consumers.

RC: Microsoft has taken everything it has learned from the industries around MS-DOS and Windows platforms and is applying it to the TV environment, partnering with companies along the value chain, building products and services that add value to MSTV for our consumers. MSTV is an industry pioneer, starting with WebTV in 1996, a service that has been integrated into MSN TV, and with the launch this year of UltimateTV, the most advanced service available to consumers.

Microsoft has invested more than $10 million in wireless, cable and telecommunications network operators around the world to help them rapidly develop the in-demand infrastructure for dual-way broadband communications that support the new interactive services. We are also investing heavily in areas behind television and see a great opportunity for our partners to extend their offerings beyond TV units as well as take advantage of our work around Microsoft. NET to achieve the global emergence of distributed services.

RC: MSTV has a very long outlook for ITV. We are living the first days of this industry and recognize the importance of the growth of the pay and cable television market in Latin America. Right now we are focusing our efforts on achieving partnerships with leading network operators and developing new features for ITV with content developers, OEMs, etc.

While the pay-TV market is currently small compared to the European and U.S. markets, it is forecast to have one of the fastest growths. (Strategy Analytics, Interactive Digital TV, Feb. 2001).

Brazil with 39.1 million households that own a TV has a larger market than any European or South American country, Canada and Mexico. (Merrill Lynch - Global iTV Infrastructure, Aug. 2000)

Finally, ABTA estimates that by 2005 between 6 and 7 million people will be subscribed to pay-TV services in Brazil, generating more than $1.4 billion in revenue for companies across the pay-TV and cable tv industry.

During the last ABTA conference in Brazil, MSTV showed its strong commitment to Latin America, with international partnerships with network operators such as Globo Cabo of Brazil, Cablevision of Mexico and TV Cabo of Portugal, exhibited its advanced ITV services available to consumers at this time. Additionally, 8 STBs of OEMs ran demonstrations of various solutions including Samsung, Philips, Motorola, Scientific Atlanta, Quanta Network Systems, Pace, Octal, Thomson/RCA and UltimateTV. Application and content development partners include NDS, Nova Base and iTV Solutions.

RC: If you're wondering who is working to place ITV services as the main ones, the answer would definitely be MSTV along with the partners with whom you've had relationships. Microsoft has created relationships with content developers, creators of streaming tools, satellites, OEMs and cable operators who are entering this medium. In fact, Microsoft is a pioneer, our WebTV service started in 1996 offering ITV and Internet access. Microsoft has since launched UltimateTV, an ITV satellite service, and MSN TV, which replaced WebTV and offers its subscribers access to services such as Hotmail and MSN Money. The industry is still very young, but we have been every step of the way and will continue to take it to the next step.