never.no Interactivity Goes Behind Scenes at TV2
Technology is also enabling Norway's TV2 viewers to use their mobile phones or laptops to make live, real-time contributions during sports talk shows and broadcasts.
Oslo(06 Apr 2010)
never.no today announced that Norway's top commercial broadcaster has deployed its interactive technology behind the scenes to create a single management hub for one-click publishing of digital content, regardless of its source or destination. The same technology - never.no's Auto Dialog System, Interactivity Desk, and Dynamic Content Scheduler - is also enabling Norway's TV2 viewers to use their mobile phones or laptops to make live, real-time contributions during sports talk shows and broadcasts.
"The easy-to-manage never.no system greatly simplifies both our ability to move content around and our interactive offerings," said Håvard Myklebust, managing editor and head of acquisition, TV2. "Having this single, unified system is a huge improvement to our efficiency, potentially saves us a huge amount of expense, and also enables us to spend more time doing our jobs well and less time developing broadcast software. The interactivity aspect is increasingly important to all our viewers, especially to the younger ones who want to be able to respond when something is said in the studio."
At TV2, never.no technology takes incoming feeds from as many sources as desired - internal content, Web sites, databases, or even SMS feeds - and aggregates them on a single Web interface that is viewed by a technician. With one mouse click, the technician can then publish content to its destination, with the system automating every step of the process, including graphics interpolation and formatting.
The automated solution supports streamlined production and efficiency because it eliminates repetitive, tedious, and time-consuming hands-on manipulation of individual items - particularly onerous in fast-changing contexts like news and sports. The number of sources is theoretically limitless, while destination platforms could be the TV2 Web site, a news crawl, an in-studio touchscreen wall, or social media.
In addition, the never.no interactivity suite is flexible enough that TV2 staff can easily change sources and destinations using key words. Currently, TV2 is using the management hub only for sports broadcasts, but decision makers there anticipate the system's flexibility will be especially helpful when news producers start using the technology this summer to keep up with breaking stories.
Besides the behind-the-scenes use of never.no technology for managing and routing content, TV2 is using never.no technology to enable viewers to use their mobile phones or Twitter to send comments that appear in near real time on the in-studio touchscreen at a live sports talk show. During a recent Sunday night soccer match, for example, a viewer was able to follow up repeatedly with questions for commentators.
"TV2 is leading the way with its phase-in of a comprehensive use of never.no's technology," said Lars Lauritzsen, never.no CEO. "This innovative, behind-the-scenes deployment points the way for broadcasters who want to streamline and enhance the efficiency of their operations by automating hands-on tasks. Simply put, to deliver cutting-edge services faster, and save cost in the process. The never.nointeractivity products increase the amount of information a broadcaster can monitor and disseminate, while simplifying its ability to utilize timely and effectively all the information on screen, on the Web, and in mobile services."
More information about never.no products is available at www.never.no or by phone at +47 22 01 66 20.
VIDEO: Follow the link to see TV2 use the never.no system live during Sports Extra http://www.never.no/multi-publishing-content/
About TV2
TV2, based in Bergen, is the largest commercial television station in Norway. More than 30 percent of the time Norwegians spend watching TV is spent watching TV2. The station has 65 percent of the market for TV commercials in Norway. TV2 started broadcasts in September 1992.
About never.no
never.no's award-winning interactive technology connects broadcasters, brands, outdoor media owners, and digital screen networks with online and mobile consumers. By dynamically modifying playout, schedules, and graphics based on viewer-generated or other internal and external inputs, the Interactivity Suite is ideal for the converging digital media market. The versatile never.no product suite works with traditional TV, Web TV, IPTV, digital signage, and mobile platforms. never.no technology powers a variety of high-profile interactive formats, including entire TV channels. In operation since 1999, never.no has data centers in Oslo, Norway; Los Angeles; and Dubai; and a global customer base including top brands such as Active Loop Television, Aspiro, CTVGlobeMedia, Etisalat, Music Choice, MyThum Interactive, Rubicon TV, TV Norge, TV2, and Viasat. More information about never.no products is available at www.never.no.