P-TV = Participation Television or Interactive Telivision

This week the MEF published a draft Code of Practice outlining best practices for the Participation Television, or P-TV, in the United States. The draft is designed to achieve create a standard for P-TV. The goal is to define structured and auditable processes, determine responsibility and accountability, and creating an action plan for addressing errors.

One UK based P-TV scandal was British network ITV. The revealed that viewers who voted in its amateur talent showcase "X-Factor" were overcharged by "200,000 puounds. Note-I saw this happen a few times with U.S. shows too earlier on. UK rival Channel 4's :Richard & Judy" let the audience dial in late-after the winners were selected. Oh- and they charged a premium rate.

Interactive participation is the only driver to get viewers to watch the live show. If TV shows don't have it-people can record the show,skip commercials..and their goes the value to the paying advertisers.

The bottom-line
They need to get the text pay option timing right as it is the main reason people watch the live TV show AND their commercials. If there is no motivation to watch live- they will simply Tivo the show.