DTT bidders battle over interactivity

Cable Television Network has hit out at British Digital Broadcasting, the rival bidder for half of Britain’s digital terrestrial TV, for failing to include plans for interactive services.

Jeremy Thorp, chief executive of the CableTel-backed consortium, claims BDB has missed a key marketing opportunity in failing to propose interactive services on digital TV DTT.

Thorp dismisses suggestions that DTN has emerged as the clear underdog to BDB, which is financially backed by Carlton, Granada and BSkyB and will be supported by BBC subscription programming.

According to DTN, 60 organisations have offered it support in developing interactive services. If granted the licences, it proposes to provide a wide range of screen-based information services, which will be downloaded to set-top boxes.