OpenTV Participate Solution Powers NBC's Live Interactive Events on 'Heroes'

OpenTV Participate Solution Powers NBC's Live Interactive Events on 'Heroes'

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ:OPTV), a leading provider of enabling technologies for advanced television and cross-platform interactive services, today announced that its OpenTV Participate(TM) solution is powering live, web (PC) based interactive services for the current series of NBC's hit primetime show, "Heroes."

The new 'two screen' interactive services, which are created, scheduled, managed and analyzed using OpenTV Participate's production tools, are being synchronized with the "Heroes" broadcast each Monday night across all continental US time zones. Audiences are invited to interact with the broadcasts by entering live polls and offering their own predictions on the outcome of the storylines, all with real time statistics fed directly to their PCs. NBC is also able to use the OpenTV Participate system to create and manage sponsored polls and questionnaires as well as advertiser brochure requests.

The OpenTV Participate system deployed for "Heroes," which is hosted for NBC by OpenTV at its data center, makes use of one of OpenTV's proprietary technologies designed to enable seamless live updates to be pushed to very large numbers of simultaneous PC users. During the series, NBC creative teams have complete control over the creation and management of all events with detailed analysis of all activity available at producers' desktops during or after the show. Data from all transactions, including data from sponsor calls to action, are stored in a secure database which can be queried for trend and retention analysis using OpenTV Participate's built in CRM tools.

Jon Dakss, NBC's Director of ITV Technology Product Development, said, "The OpenTV Participate solution presented NBC.com with important new options for live two screen interactivity and we felt that a show like 'Heroes,' which has an audience that is seeking out a rich, multi-platform viewing experience, was the ideal show to try it on. The product is also flexible enough for us to experiment with timings and event types during the series, allowing us to explore new ideas on-the-fly."

Arik Faingold, General Manager and CTO for the OpenTV Participate product, said, "The OpenTV Participate team has dedicated significant resources towards enabling seamless cross-platform interactivity on a mass scale and in a single, business-oriented system. We are therefore delighted that NBC has chosen to use OpenTV Participate for such a high-profile primetime show."

About OpenTV

OpenTV is one of the world's leading providers of solutions for the delivery of digital and interactive television. The company's software has been integrated in over 73 million digital set-top boxes around the world. The software enables enhanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, enhanced television, interactive shopping, interactive and addressable advertising, games and gaming and a variety of consumer care and communication applications. For more information, please visit www.opentv.com.

About NBC Universal

NBC Universal is one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.

FCMN Contact: lisa.rogers@mslpr.com

Source: OpenTV, Inc.

CONTACT: Barbara Cassidy, VP, Communications, +1-415-962-5111, or
bcassidy@opentv.com, or Amos Manasseh, VP, Sales & Marketing, OpenTV
Participate, +44 (0) 20 7878 3291, or amos.manasseh@opentv.com, both of
OpenTV; or Lisa Ruiz Rogers of Manning Selvage & Lee, +1-323-866-6059, or
lisa.rogers@mslpr.com, for OpenTV

Web site: http://www.opentv.com/

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