Interactive TV got a boost today with the news that ICTV, through its joint venture with Yoo Media, will deliver interactive applications from at least 20 content providers to United Kingdom cable operator NTL in a trial starting in early 2005. BBC and MTV are among the participating networks. The trial will use ICTV’s HeadendWare and a Windows-based platform, which essentially means that content development is easier and can be fashioned with better audio and video, said Mike McGrail, ICTV CEO.

He added that the ICTV suite of service will be complementary to the interactive applications that NTL already offers. “We can create a next generation of ITV services. We aren’t replacing anything,” he said. The ICTV applications will enhance the current line-up of NTL interactivity that includes games, news, sports and dating applications. What the trial means for U.S. providers, which are still slowly rolling out interactivity, is that there are opportunities to enhance the platform and provide an experience more akin to the multimedia broadband delivery on the Web today, Mr. McGrail said. The service will be trialed initially in up to 20,000 NTL cable homes.