Television is a familiar and trusted part of most people's lives.
Interactive television gives the newly active viewer the opportunity to extend their use of the television to activities more familiar from the Internet. They can browse information on topics of interest, personalise their viewing choices, play interactive games, carry out e-commerce related activities (shopping, banking, betting, etc.), and play an increasingly active role in broadcast programmes, even to the extent of interacting with other viewers.
Governments and policy makers increasingly see interactive television as a means to bridge the digital divide by getting everyone on line from their sitting rooms, while companies see it as a way of adding a new resource stream.
All the signs are that more and more interactive services will appear on our television screens, yet there is little research on how to design for interactiveTV or on its effects.
About interactive television
