The TV networks have done the unthinkable and freed their electronic program guide information across all channels for use on PVRs and PCs. But there are strings attached.
Electronic program guide provider IceTV remains bullish about its future despite an announcement that Australia's commercial television networks are poised to make their EPGs
available to all (PDF).
Ice TV's business model has been built around selling subscriptions to users of personal video recorders (PVRs) and media centre PCs. The announcement potentially blows a huge hole in this revenue stream.
According to peak industry body Free TV Australia, which represents the networks, EPG information will be made available to all manufacturers of set top boxes and PVRs. There is a catch though -- manufacturers will still need to apply to get access, and they won't be greeted with open arms if their devices have ad-skipping capabilities.
"This is for anyone who wants to provide (an EPG) for the free-to-air platform," CEO of the television networks' peak body FreeTV, Julie Flynn told The Australian . "We are not concerned about fast-forwarding (of commercials) but we are certainly not keen on ad-skipping per se."
As a result, IceTV managing director Matt Kossatz says he is "still very positive" and remains confident his company's future is secure.
"It is actually great news for viewers, but so far there is not a lot of detail about the announcement and I hope we will be a part of it," he told APCmag.com.
"We are leagues ahead in terms of delivering data into a variety of platforms including media centre PCs, Macs and a few PVRs. We also provide EPGs in a way that gives the facility to gather ratings information."
Kossatz points out that, in most countries around the world, EPGs are delivered by a third party provider rather than directly by networks. There is no reason why this shouldn't work in Australia, he claims.
Even if the changes announced by the networks mean that Ice TV can no longer continue to charge $99 a year for its service, the company still has other sources of revenue.
One is an innovative remote programming function, that allows users to program their recorder via the internet or even a mobile phone -- a capability that Foxtel is known to be close to releasing for its Foxtel IQ PVR.
The company is also looking at teaming up with content providers to push content directly onto a user's box. "This could take the form of movie downloads for example," says Kossatz.
Kossatz says his company currently has around 7500 paying Ice TV subscribers.
"The announcement is potentially very exciting as it could allow us to get our program information directly from the networks," he says. Currently the company manually creates its own guides which is an expensive and resource-intensive process.