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RICHARD COLE
Music video fans will be able to create their own shows via digital set-top boxes under an agreement between Universal Music Group and French-owned middleware company Canal+ U.S. Technologies.
The two companies aim to have demonstrations available for cable operators by the end of the year.
UMG's The Viewing Lounge will be the first show to take advantage of the new partnership, says Larry Kenswil, president of UMG's eLabs. The interactive show has run on a Web site since Aug. 29, and the TV version will be similar.
"We've already broken new ground on the Web with our current broadband music pilot initiative, and it's a natural step for us to be the first to explore the possibilities of digital television," Kenswil says.
Fans will be able to choose from more than 100 music videos by groups such as U2, The Wallflowers, Eminem and Janet Jackson. They can watch and navigate full-screen TV-quality music videos using a remote control, creating their own custom blocks of programming. And they can click on a link to buy a CD or read more about the artist.
Canal+ designed its MediaHighway middleware with a content management backend solution to allow music programming to be distributed to multiple platforms and environments, says CEO Jean-Marc Racine.
"We believe our successes in Europe were built on close collaborations with leaders from the content and programming industries," he says. "It's a formula we hope to replicate."
Canal+ spokesman Arthur Orduna says the companies will be first to market with the interactive video channel, although AOL and Time Warner have discussed a similar service.
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