...But no longer the only one
By Aleksander Nowacki
Telestar's iTV will soon lose its status as the only interactive channel in the country. Although software integrator Comtica's 4fun.tv channel has delayed its launch, initially planned for late July, it is expected to go on air by the end of this month.
Comtica's technology and development director, Piotr Szostak, said that the new channel does not see iTV as its chief competitor. "We want to be an entertainment channel, targeted at the 14-29 age group," he said. "It's an altogether different game."
The channel, which will focus on extreme sports, music, film, games and other issues associated with "yoof" lifestyle, sees itself as competing with MTV2 and Viva Polska rather than Telestar's channel.
"There are some areas in which we will compete directly," said Telestar's Leszek Kułak. "But we are targeting a much broader audience." He went on to say that iTV's evening programs, which broadcast advice from fortune-tellers ("the local equivalent of a psychoanalyst," as Kułak put it) would in no way compete with the new channel.
"It has proven to be a very popular service with a mostly female and somewhat older audience," Kułak explained. "It's a completely different target." Both channels will, however, offer games, chatting and dating services. They both want to attract marketers of products that target young people's lifestyles.
"I'm sure we would be interested in associating our brand with an interactive channel of communication," said an account manager at a media house representing a major soft drink producer. She went on to say, however, that these kinds of alternative forms of advertising would likely attract well under one percent of total advertising budgets in the foreseeable future.
Unlike iTV, Comtica would consider making its channel a paid product for cable and satellite TV providers after an initial free period, during which reaching the largest possible number of households would be a priority.
The two channels also differentiate in terms of their prime area of expertise. Telestar's Kułak emphasized the company's experience at organizing quizzes and competitions; Comtica's Szostak was keen to point out that all the technology used is fresh and original.
"4fun.tv will do more than just tell the viewer to send a message or phone in," Szostak said. He named the "virtual DJ" service, which would allow viewers to create their own TV announcer, as an example of the channel's innovative approach.
Industry insiders say that this sort of product should prove popular with some young viewers. They point out, however, that in enterprises of this kind it is extremely difficult to find a balance between sustainable programming costs and sufficiently developed content. While it remains to be seen whether either of the channels proves successful, the general opinion is that both carry a high level of risk.
