Proteus Announces Milestone in US Television Wireless Voting Usage

Robust wireless messaging platform logs 800th hour of interactive television

Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 5, 2004 --Proteus, a leading producer and developer of wireless applications, today announced a major milestone in the use of its proprietary platform. During a recent episode of Todd TV on FX, which utilizes the system to extend interactive voting to Sprint PCS subscribers, the platform logged its 800th hour of use. As part of a comprehensive broadcast solution, the platform is comprised of a suite of best-in-class product offerings that enable media properties to harness the burgeoning mobile audience across nearly all wireless devices and networks. The solution was the first in the nation to seamlessly link media content with an audience of tens of millions of television viewers capable of providing immediate feedback.

Since debuting in January 2002 during Super Bowl XXXVI on FOX, the platform has been commercially deployed to complement two seasons of NFL Football, Major League Baseball, and NASCAR on FOX, as well as broadcasts of the FIFA World Cup on Univision, ABC College Football, Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, and The Daytime Emmy Awards and The View: His or Her Body Test on ABC. The interoperable, two-way system is currently available to AT&T Wireless, Cingular Wireless, Nextel, Sprint PCS and T-Mobile subscribers.

"Proteus is committed to the concept that TV viewers want to interact when given a viable mechanism to do so," says Marcia Zellers, Director of Enhanced TV at the American Film Institute (AFI), where Proteus has been involved as a professional mentor in AFI's eTV prototype production environment, the AFI Enhanced TV Workshop. "They found a sweet spot. Rather than wait for mass adoption of set top technologies," Zellers said, "Proteus gives TV viewers the interactivity they want with a technology that most viewers already have: a cell phone. They've brought real energy and ingenuity to the medium."

Through the course of these major events, television viewers have grown accustomed to participating in the broadcast using their mobile phones. Initially capturing just over 11% of all votes cast during Super Bowl XXXVI versus web-based voting, Proteus' system now regularly captures 50% or more, significantly increasing interactive participation. "The number of wireless voters will increase even more dramatically as initiatives span across multiple carriers with the use of common short codes," said Proteus' President, Patrick McQuown. "The success of TV-related text messaging is a reminder of how easily an elaborate technology can be unexpectedly overtaken by a simpler, lower-tech approach." McQuown added. ''It does not mean that the traditional approach to interactive TV is doomed: rather, it demonstrates that there is strong demand for interactive services today. People, it seems, really do want to do more than just stare at the screen.''

Proteus offers the platform to clients in a fully hosted and licensed model that requires no new software installation or client resources, integrates with industry-standard protocols such as XML, and can be deployed in days, rather than weeks or months, fitting well with television production's tight timeframes. The platform's reporting suite of software tools, combined with the expertise of the Proteus analytic team, provides producers with unique insight into their mobile offerings. The data, together with Proteus' analysis, can then be developed into a recurring, actionable mobile communications strategy.