Interactive entertainment channels and services are becoming increasingly popular as they offer additional or alternative revenue opportunities to traditional advertising revenues. Standalone interactive channels and services create revenue streams that are driven not from traditional advertising but the monetisation of the interactivity; for example, paying to play games, search cinema listings, T-commerce and gambling.

Sky offers four interactive entertainment channels: Sky Vegas Live, and three commercial channel or "portals", Sky Active, Sky Gamestar and The Betting Zones, which are available on the interactive main menu of the Sky electronic programme guide. These channels are very popular with digital subscribers, with over 3.8 million homes spending at least three minutes in Sky Active and Sky Gamestar from January to December 2005 (BARB).

The Sky Active channel is a hybrid between a television channel, a magazine and an interactive channel. It combines the play-out strengths of TV with the merchandising strengths of a magazine and is monetised via interactivity.

Find out more about Sky Active

This is Sky’s popular games portal. Games range from classics such as Battleships and Connect 4 to new and innovative games based on instantly recognisable brands. Brands and content developers can generate new revenues and target specific demographics through interactive games. Revenue models include pay to play and day passes. Advertisers can obtain customer data and generate leads.

Find out more about Sky Gamestar

The Betting Zones contain the sports betting partners (Sky Bet, Ladbrokes, Bluesquare and bethilo) as well as providers of fixed-odds virtual games (Sky Bet, Fancy a Flutter, PlayMonteCarlo and Littlewoods).

Find out more about The Betting Zones

Sky Vegas Live is one of the first channels whose commercial model is based on interactivity rather than advertising. Sky Vegas Live is on air from 6pm until 2am daily and allows viewers to interact with the show, play keno and bet on virtual horse and dog racing.

Find out more about Sky Bet