Rovi Launches Shoppable Electronic Program Guide

16 Feb, 2011 By: Chris Tribbey

Starting soon, consumers will be able to buy products and services on their connected TVs with just a few clicks of their remotes, thanks to a new commerce capability being integrated into Rovi’s electronic program guides.

NBC and its shows “The Biggest Loser” and “The Office” will be the first to integrate the feature, along with A&E Television Network series such as “Pawn Stars,” which airs on the History channel.

“We’ve talked about this forever,” said Jeff Siegel, SVP of worldwide advertising sales at Rovi. “The electronic program guide is often the first point of contact a viewer has with a program on any given day and guide users visit the guide, on average, nine times daily.

“The ability to shop-enable our guide by dynamically mapping products to listings can open up new opportunities for media companies to reach a highly engaged and active consumer audience.”

Content owners and entertainment companies will be able to monetize their content through the sale of products within the program guide, while advertisers can make their ad campaigns a one-stop shopping experience, according to Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Delivery Agent. Rovi is using Delivery Agent’s interactive commerce engine for the service.

“Delivery Agent’s commerce platform, including its proprietary database of 1 million-plus products seen in entertainment content, was built to close the gap between a consumer seeing a product on screen and a purchase opportunity. Today, through the collaboration with Rovi, and the deployment of shoppable program guides, we believe three audiences are better served (consumers, content owners and advertisers),” he said.

Rovi and Delivery Agent aim to also have the shopping capability available to consumers who access their electronic program guides through the Web.

Rovi has also announced that it has signed a multiyear agreement with Cablevision that will have the cable operator licensing Rovi’s interactive program guide for set-tops, online and mobile platforms.

“Increasingly, MSOs (multisystem operators) are offering their subscribers access to entertainment content that extends beyond the set-top box, across multiple devices,” said Samir Armaly, SVP of worldwide licensing for Rovi. “The addition of Cablevision to our licensing program shows the value that today’s MSOs see in providing their subscribers with content navigation via next-generation online and mobile platforms.”

The announcements came as Rovi announced a fourth-quarter profit of $67.2 million, up sharply from the $2.6 million reported during the fourth quarter of 2009. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $140.2 million, in line with the company’s estimates.

“We completed another excellent quarter and are pleased with our progress toward achieving our business objectives,” said Fred Amoroso, president and CEO of Rovi. “I am also pleased with our integration planning efforts around Sonic Solutions. Now that our tender offer has succeeded, I look forward to executing our plans and beginning to realize the benefits and synergies of the combination.”

For 2011, the company is forecasting revenue between $775 million and $825 million and earnings per share of between $2.20 and $2.50.