iTV Research

Learning the things that make users happy, and operators money.

Iacta's principals have been working in iTV since 1985. But our most exciting work began in January, 1997, when we began a focus group with the first real iTV users we'd ever seen who weren't part of a test group -- WebTV users.

We've learned a tremendous amount from these users about how to make compelling iTV -- and also learned how service operators and content creators can (and will, we hope) apply these lessons to make iTV consumer successes. We offer our research results to the industry in our reports and white papers, and use it ourselves in the applications we make and the consulting and training we offer to our clients.

Research Studies

New! Lessons Learned From iTV (2002)

The definitive five-year study of iTV users and their experience on the first iTV service to capture a million-subscriber market. Lessons Learned From iTV examines the WebTV product, service, operation, marketing, and user experience, and draws important lessons that apply to the future of broadband iTV services.

Lessons Learned From WebTV (1999)

Our previous study, which looked at the first two years of WebTV from a competitive point of view. Our 2002 study completely updates this material and includes vastly more information, but purchasers of the 2002 study may request a complimentary copy of this older study for comparison. February 1999, 120 pages.

The TV Web: A Developing Market and Infrastructure (1996)

In late 1995, one of our clients asked us to help develop their strategy for iTV. We told them "stay out of it right now," and predicted that a new iTV would develop as the Internet, TV, and high-speed access converged. Published in March 1996 (three months prior to the announcement of WebTV), this analysis is an interesting view at how our new industry looked to us six years ago. Online - click here.

White Papers

Interactive Human Behavior and its Application to iTV Services

One of the first things we learned from our focus group was that we had been looking at technology all these years, rather than at how and why human beings interact in the first place. This fundamental study in 1997 completely changed how we evaluated the potential consumer value of iTV applications, and became the core philosophy in all of our design. 32 pages. Complimentary - available by email request.

Focus Group: Net4TV

We first began to meet WebTV users in January 1997. We wanted to find out what was so compelling that, after years of failed iTV trials, mainstream consumers were suddenly spending their own money for an iTV product. We began Net4TV to attract their attention so that we could engage them in dialogue -- the first focus group of real iTV users.

We tried out a lot of our iTV ideas that we'd imagined by never been able to test, and we also listened to their ideas and tried many of them. The result was successful beyond our wildest dreams -- over 120,000 unique WebTV users per month (with a few AOLTV, WorldGate, and others joining in), and tens of thousands of user comments and survey responses. Much of our understanding was gained through this high-quality user interaction, and most of our iTV applications are developed and user-tested on Net4TV.

User Research and Focus Groups

Iacta uses selected subsets of the Net4TV community to help other iTV industry participants try out ideas and test applications with real users. Our custom research work has included focus groups for iTV programming and for consumer products, and testing of iTV applications and elements on Net4TV. Contact us about putting your ideas and prototypes in front of real users for feedback, and about our unique audio-chat application that can give you top-quality iTV user focus group results -- quickly, confidentially, and at a very low cost.

iTV Analysis and Observations

For three years, we published Net4TV Voice, a bi-weekly magazine for the WebTV community. In it, we reported on developments in the iTV industry, and offered our own observations and analysis to spark a dialogue with our readers. The following are some of our editorial columns that observed and analyzed the steps and mis-steps in iTV, written for iTV-using consumers, and a few of our readers' comments back.

Laura Buddine (writing as Dudette)

It's a Floor Wax AND a Dessert Topping - observations on the strange positionings of Ultimate TV and AOLTV. April 2001.

The 'Limited Market' for WebTV? - Microsoft tries to excuse its failure as a 'limited market' and a 'brand that has run its course.' But, having not learned a thing from their own mistakes, we predict they'll repeat them with UltimateTV. April 2001.

Fear, Uncertainty, and Greed: Will Cable Kill iTV Again? - If cable's current concerns result in a dumbed-down, brain-dead iTV, consumers won't want it. Is there an opportunity for AOLTV and Microsoft (now with XBox) to do an end-run around the MSO to the consumer? December 2000.

The Long Road to iTV - a three-part series that puts iTV into perspective for consumers by explaining the history of the technologies that are converging to make iTV. April - July, 2000.
The Long Road to iTV: Part 1 - The First 20 Years
The Long Road to iTV: Part 2 - The Internet
The Long Road to iTV: Part 3 - Email Everywhere

Brian C. Bock (writing as Dexter Davenport)

Midnight in the Walled Garden of Good and Evil - Dexter's opinion is that the interactive components are part of the program content, and that MSOs demanding charges for their carriage can stifle iTV. December 2000.

Review: TiVo Wins Thumbs Up - PVR may still be an early-adopter product, but we believe it will be a winner in the long run. Dexter's detailed review of TiVo explains the great and not-so-great elements, but also why he can't live without it now.

WebTV Couldn't Market Immortality - Even during WebTV's greatest period of growth, Dexter was observing how their "marketing" was off in left field, and wondering if they wouldn't have the same results if they were offering immortality. January 1999.

WebTV, Take My Advice - When WebTV dumped their ad agency, Dexter recapped why their 1998 campaign hadn't worked and told them again how to have a success. Of course, they didn't listen. August 1999.

New Years' Resolutions, 2001 - some suggested resolutions for cable operators, WebTV, venture capitalists, and politicians. We wish. January 2001.