interactive TV

The U.S. cable and satellite television business has a big case of iPhone envy.

Apple has been able to distinguish and popularize its cell phone in a crowded field by giving away or selling specialized applications that make the phone more useful. So far, independent developers have written more than 65,000 applications.

Current TV is handing over feedback on the upcoming presidential debates to those who make up so much of the network's programming: its audience.

During the debates, the network bent on viewer-created content will broadcast Twitter messages -- or "tweets" -- from viewers. In close to real time, Current will display comments on the screen while Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama face off.

Microsoft's aggressive campaign to increase its position in digital advertising took another step this week as it announced the acquisition of Navic Networks, a television advertising provider. Terms were not disclosed.

The deal, announced Tuesday, will give the software giant ownership of Navic's sophisticated campaign-management tools for digital advertising. Those tools optimize where and when interactive television ads are placed. One tool, called Admira, offers a unified ad network so that selected audiences can be targeted across all ads in a campaign.

Six cable-TV operators that serve more than 82 percent of U.S. cable households have inked an agreement with Sony Electronics that will soon make it possible for cable subscribers to forego the use of stand-alone set-top boxes. The enabling Tru2way technology, based on Sun Microsystems' Java runtime environment, enables interactive capabilities in TV sets, gaming consoles, portable media players, and even mobile phones.

Will people remember three-second video ads on their mobile phones? Do high-definition commercials on big screens get people's hearts racing more than other pitches? Is the sports ticker crawl distracting or does it add value to the 30-second TV spot?

A laboratory in Austin, Texas, to be founded by The Walt Disney Co. by the end of the year aims to answer these questions and more by testing the biometric reactions of a pool of up to 4,000 people to advertising that takes advantage of the latest technology.