Microsoft fared badly trying to break into the cable TV world, but it’s had a great deal more success with IPTV. And now that its Mediaroom software has gained widespread global adoption, Microsoft is anxious to keep developers engaged with the platform and pumping out new TV apps. Last month the Redmond giant hosted its third annual Mediaroom Developers Conference. Tracy Swedlow, long famous in the interactive television industry, reports that three applications earned top honors in the event’s ritual app contest.
Coming in first was ES3’s Interactive Workout application for creating a personal workout routine with how-to videos. Second prize went to Pushbutton’s Time Capsules app, which provides a way to navigate content created at specific moments in time. And third-place honors went to Accedo Broadband’s ZapClub application, featuring social networking features for TV shows including live tweets, Wikipedia information, and the ability to rate and share shows.
In the US, Microsoft’s primary Mediaroom deployment comes through AT&T’s U-Verse service. While not as aggressively marketed as the other big stateside telco TV offering, U-Verse continues to plug along quite successfully, with projected revenue hitting $2 billion this year. The continued development of TV apps for U-Verse is what should help set AT&T’s service apart from its cable competitors in the near future. In particular, the IP foundation makes these apps theoretically portable. Want to access that Interactive Workout on both your TV and your iPhone? There’s an app for that… or there soon will be.
Disclosure: I work for Motorola, which works closely with both AT&T and Microsoft on IPTV technologies.