Enhanced TV is a simple way for viewers to interact with a TV show or extend their experience of a show by viewing more than just the linear broadcast. Commonly associated with pressing the red button on the remote control, an interactive application can:

• Offer viewers a new perspective of the show and a deeper TV experience
• Encourage viewers to get involved and even influence the narrative
• Add value to a TV brand, either commercially or by increasing viewer loyalty
• Provide e-business services specifically tailored to audience or programme content 

Programme enhancements can include:

• Voting: Pioneered in reality TV by the show “Big Brother”, voting remains a fantastic way to involve viewers in a show. Interactive voting established the starting line-up for “The Match”, a live and interactive charity football game.
  View “The Match” case study

• Competitions: Viewers can answer a question to be in with a chance of winning prizes. For example, viewers of the entertainment show “Brainiac” could win the chance to appear on the show.
  View the "Brainiac” case study

• Quizzes: This is a great way to encourage viewers to play along with a TV show. The producers of the entertainment show, “How Gay Are You?” ran a quiz alongside the show enabling viewers to discover their own personal “gayness” and submit a score to the national Big Gay Poll.
  View the “How Gay Are You?” case study

• Exclusive video footage: Similar to the additional features often available on a DVD, exclusive video footage can add extra value to the programme. For example, “Battlestar Galactica” viewers could access exclusive interviews with the producer and the actors by pressing the red button.
  View the “Battlestar Galactica” case study

• Show guides and other information: Interactive applications are ideal for shows that have more information to offer outside of the transmission. For example, reality TV show “Shock Treatment” touched upon complex scientific ideas that could be fully explained using enhanced TV elements.
  View the “Shock Treatment” case study

• Sky News Active
  Launched in 2000, Sky News Active is the world’s first interactive television news service. Now with eight video screens that viewers can select at full size, it also offers a range of text and graphics services.

• Sky Sports Active
  Sky Sports Active enables viewers to choose how they watch selected sporting events. They can select alternative camera angles, access a wealth of statistics, catch up with match highlights and even choose between live matches and place bets through their TV.
  

• Sky Movies Active
  While watching any Sky Movies channel, subscribers can simply press the red button on their Sky remote control and view the latest movie release news, see trailers and reviews and investigate movie facts and figures, as well as buy cinema tickets. Sky Movies Active also offers multi-starts – for example, viewers who wanted to see “Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones” could select a different starting time every 15 minutes.

Find out more about enhanced television