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Era Digital Media hoping to cash in on the future trend for interactive TV

Riding on the emerging wave of digital TV, Era Digital Media Co (年代數位媒體) officially unveiled its Enterprise Channel portal yesterday, which will be targeted at securities and banking firms.

"Internet TV portals change the one-way communication of traditional TVs as it now allows interaction between the viewers and content providers. We will see more momentum generated in the sector next year," the firm's president Chiu Fu-shen (邱復生) said yesterday.

By moving into the market as an application service provider, Era Digital Media will hopefully be able to reap revenues of NT$300 million (US$9 million) by the end of next year, he added.

According to statistics from International Data Corp, the number of Internet TV subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region [excluding Japan] is poised to grow from nearly half a million last year to over 20 million by 2009, with a compound annual growth rate of 110 percent.

Eyeing that potential growth, four companies have already signed up for the Enterprise portal, including Taishin International Bank (台新銀行), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Concord Securities Group (康和證券) and Ladder Digital Education Corp (階梯數位科技).

Era Digital Media intends to attract 20 more large firms for the portal next year.

"We are looking especially at the securities and banking sector as these companies always need to send information quickly and communicate instantly with staff nationwide," said Tony Hsu (徐子睿), manager of Era's project integration department.

The portal, which has technical support provided by Hewlett Packard Co and Microsoft Corp, will require a start-up investment of around NT$2.5 million, he said.

Enterprise Channel portals allow companies to have "live" broadcasts of their marketing events, press conferences, product launches or investor meetings on the Internet.

It also offers other functions such as e-learning, video conferencing or instant messaging for communication among internal staff and clients.

The portal will be launched in Japan next week, and brought to Hong Kong and the US next year as the company bids to extend exposure, according to Chiu.

The portal is one of the few services offered by I'mTV, a real-time interactive solution that transforms conventional audio and visual as well as data content into streaming media for delivery over the Internet.

In addition to the portal, other services include Vlog, a blog where members can upload videos, and TV viewing, where users can watch programs from Era News (年代新聞), Asia Plus (東風衛視) or Much TV.

Since the trial started in March last year, I'mTV has gained over 200,000 worldwide members. The majority are from Taiwan and China, and the customer base is expected to double to 500,000 members next year, according to Hsu.

In a bid to bring in more revenue, the company is considering charging membership fees starting the first quarter of next year.

"Our surveys showed that members are willing to pay NT$99 per month for the TV viewing service. We might also impose charges for using the Vlog and the video-on-demand services as well," Hsu said.
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