Interactive TV development tools from third parties are available. Content creators are producing interactive programming. And there are working business models in Europe for Americans to emulate. In the early Nineties, Kertzman recalled, it took months or years to produce proprietary applications and content for the interactive TV tests and trials. Developers today using Internet tools can do the very same things in days or weeks, at a fraction of the cost.
Nothing is cut and dried, however, for the industry is evolving.
And the reality is that consumers do not really care about technology. All they care about is content, what they see on their TV screens. Thinking about how to make money from this interactive content adds a whole new dimension to television rights and carriage negotiations. It's your choice. Cable is stepping up to digital, because if they don't, given the growth of digital satellite services, they will die.