LOS ANGELES–Telescope Inc. and mBlox said they have formed a partnership to offer interactive “participation TV” services to broadcasters and production companies.
Telescope provides mobile and interactive TV solutions and operates a large phone voting system. mBlox is a mobile transaction network. Together the companies have sold their solutions to TV networks including FOX, ABC and Game Show Network and TV shows such as “America’s Got Talent,” “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Rock Star: Supernova.”
The partnership aims to allow TV viewers to interact with programs using text messaging, including voting and sweepstakes offerings.
“Today, broadcasters face two significant challenges: declining advertising revenues and viewer churn from increased multi-channel fragmentation,” said Troy Sample, president of Telescope. “TV voting applications immediately increase revenues while attracting advertising sponsors, like Coke and Ford for `American Idol,’ for exciting new interactive TV formats. This inherently increases subscriber loyalty and keeps broadcasters happy.”
