They must become practical alternatives to linear analogue television which can motivate behavioural changes. What I want now'- will become the cultural driver in a very short time as consumers relate to their economic life. The essential elements of the system are that content providers and businesses wish to communicate with their customers and the service providers who make this communication possible and the subsequent transactions to happen. It is the experience of interactive trials from 2wo-way TV in the Midlands and the Videotron trials that younger people will watch programmes they would never dream of watching if it wasn't for the interactive platform. It is certainly difficult to make the case for increased interactivity at the expense of additional quality or enhanced sound, for example, on the basis of one or the other.
Digital television offers both to the consumer.
There is a case for saying that interactivity is the additional value for consumers who have not been hooked up to cable. Two reports, one by Ovum New Media and the other from Pira International have studied different aspects of interactivity and both together give some pointers to the commercial implications of interactive services. Several hypotheses were tested and factors critical to success were identified. Interviews with the principals illuminated the conclusions. The Ovum report took a wider brief and studied the global developments.