ICTV Reaps New Funding, Partners With TV Guide Interactive
Interactive television company ICTV, Los Gatos, CA, yesterday received $87 million in funding from leading interactive television industry companies.These companies include OpenTV, Motorola, Shaw Communications, ACTV, Adelphia, Liberty Digital and TV Guide Inc. Previous investor Lauder Partners upped its initial investment, while Cox, another initial investor, did not contribute to this round of financing.
ICTV's service is a Web-based application that delivers high-speed broadband Internet content through a set-top box that appears as a "TV Browser" to consumers. This is basically a homepage that runs off a specified channel and allows people to get Internet capabilities through their televisions.
ICTV yesterday also agreed to integrate its TV Browser with TV Guide Interactive, Tulsa, OK, an interactive television-programming schedule that is available to more than 3.5 million cable subscribers.
Through the agreement, any cable operator that currently offers TV Guide Interactive will also be able to provide its customers with ICTV's Web-based interactive content.
