[eccr] New report shows consumer education is the key to success for EuropeaniTV market

Title: New report shows consumer education is the key to success for EuropeaniTV market

New report shows consumer education is the key to success for European
iTV market

Amsterdam,  20 August 2002 - A new report by Van Dusseldorp & Partners,
the European digital strategy company behind TV meets the
Web (http://www.tvmeetstheweb.com),  reveals that consumers' attitudes to
the value of interactive services are key to the success of the European
interactive TV market.

'At present,  many DTV subscribers are not sufficiently aware of the iTV
services that are made available to them via the digital platform, '
said co-author of the report,  senior research analyst Ashley Smith.
'There
is considerable evidence that in developed European digital marketplaces
such as the UK,  the availability of interactive services currently has
little impact on the consumer's digital purchasing decision. Going
forward,  the industry needs to improve at educating users about the
benefits of interactivity.'

Audience patterns reveal that participation and direct individual
involvement are important motivations behind iTV service consumption.
'Having the opportunity to vote and express personal qualities through
quizzes,  registering high scores and text messaging are emerging as the
key themes of television interaction, ' said Mr. Smith.

In order to attract new users and to lead a 'gradual' change in user
television behaviour,  iTV applications should be simple,  relevant and
avoid complex content and interfaces. The report demonstrates that
successful iTV applications offer highly entertaining content with broad
market appeal through intuitive interfaces. 'Gaming channels such as
PlayJam highlight the principle, ' said Mr. Smith. 'Users have
demonstrated their willingness to pay for playing relatively
unsophisticated games that,  nevertheless,   proved to be highly
entertaining.'   

The European Interactive Television Report brings together key facts,
figures and case studies from the European interactive TV sector. It
covers the technologies,  applications and developing standards across
the most advanced national markets in Europe.

The report includes detailed surveys of current European trends and case
studies. From insights into the key technology and infrastructure
issues,  to a study of the hardware,  operating systems and applications
available,  this report is an essential guide to the evolving European
iTV landscape.

'A feature of the report is the country by country review of iTV
services,  regulatory framework and key market players, ' said co-author
of the report,  research analyst Paola Contardo. 'We cover not only
mature markets like the UK and France,  but also areas of Europe such as
Scandinavia,  Portugal and Italy,  which have been poorly represented
until now.' 

The report is available in either secure PDF (400 EUR) or in print (450
EUR).

To order the report online,  please go to
http://www.vandusseldorp.com/publications/order.asp

For more information,  and to view the full table of contents,  please
go to http://www.vandusseldorp.com/publications/itv.asp or contact:

Ashley Smith,  Senior Research Analyst
Tel: +31 20 330 2983 
mailto:(ashley /at/ vandusseldorp.com)