SUMMIT, N.J. -- BCM, an interactive television solution provider, offered a glimpse into the future of TV interactivity as they teamed up with ARRIS and BigBand Networks to demonstrate the ability to dynamically switch between locally inserted Enhanced Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) interactive events and nationally inserted EBIF interactive events with pre-bound and late-bound events at the CableLabs InterOp 2011 in Louisville, CO.

As national interactive EBIF events are inserted upstream by the national programmer, BigBand's BMR "pass-through" mode enables these events to reach the viewer. When a local advertisement opportunity occurs, the ARRIS local ad server streams either a pre-bound interactive local advertisement or works in conjunction with BCM's Onyx MetaCastTM server streaming EBIF data for a late-bound interactive advertisement. The ARRIS ConvergeMediaTM AdManager platform seamlessly manages, stores and reports on multiple forms of EBIF enabled advertising for delivery. BigBand's BMR either passes-through the pre-bound data or performs the necessary late-bind multiplexing to make the local advertisement interactive. The BigBand BMR has been upgraded to easily switch between pre-bound pass-through and late-bind multiplexing.

This system shows that national and local interactivity can coexist, allowing operators to maximize their EBIF investment by taking advantage of both national and local revenue opportunities made possible by interactive television.

"BCM would like to thank ARRIS and BigBand Networks, for coming together to help us demonstrate this dual revenue stream opportunity," said Madeleine Noland, CTO of BCM. "We are proud to finally be able to show that local interactivity can work seamlessly next to national interactive platforms such as the ones currently offered by Canoe Ventures."

"Interactivity presents an important component of the multi-billion dollar revenue opportunity associated with cable advanced advertising," said Joe Matarese, VP & GM OnDemand, ARRIS Media and Communications Systems Division. "With ConvergeMedia AdManager and accompanying XMS spot delivery servers, ARRIS is pleased to extend existing advertising insertion systems to support EBIF interactivity."

"As operators look to grow advertising services with interactive national and regional campaigns, BigBand's advertising solutions seamlessly scale to fit their needs," said Joel Daly, Director, Product Management and Marketing at BigBand Networks. "The dynamic EBIF grooming enhancements to BigBand's BMR reduce configuration complexity, lower service delivery cost and enable new revenue generation opportunities from targeted interactive advertising."

BCM

Arris Group Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS)

BigBand Networks Inc. (Nasdaq: BBND)