LOS GATOS, CA (March 26, 2007) ­ ICTV®, creator of network-based solutions that seamlessly blend the choice and control of broadband video with the quality and responsiveness of television, announced today the creation of ActiveMedia Group®, a division to be headed by cable and Internet entertainment entrepreneur Nizar Allibhoy and dedicated to the development of Web created, TV-delivered ActiveVideo™ programming.

Allibhoy joins ICTV as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the ActiveMedia Group (www.activemediagroup.com) after having served in a variety of senior level entertainment positions, including Vice President, Content Distribution Services at Sony Pictures Digital and CEO of ClickStar, an online film distribution company co-founded by actor Morgan Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment and Intel Corp. With the ActiveMedia Group he is responsible for the development and support of programming solutions that allow network operators, content providers and advertisers to maximize the revenue potential of the ICTV ActiveVideo platform.

Based in Los Angeles, the ActiveMedia Group will provide resources and support for the creation of web-driven ActiveVideo programming solutions offered directly to network operators by ICTV. Leveraging the unique capabilities of ActiveVideo, the group will create content that seamlessly can cross the boundaries between network technologies and consumer devices, enabling the true three-screen viewing experience. This programming will complement the brand-name channels already created for the ActiveVideo Distribution Network (AVDN), as well as other channels under development from major media companies.

“The ability of ActiveVideo to remove many of the limits on traditional programming opens the door for far more imaginative approaches to programming and advertising from entrepreneurial third-party content developers,” said Jeff Miller, president and CEO of ICTV. “Nizar’s extensive background across cable, the Internet and Hollywood will help him to identify new programming opportunities and to be the catalyst who works with in-house resources and innovative third-party programmers to make those ideas successful.”

“While ActiveVideo is tailor-made for major networks to bring Web video to the television, there is a wealth of other programming that can be created internally or independently,” said Allibhoy. “ActiveVideo will allow a broader set of producers to deliver television quality video using standard Web authoring tools, creating an opportunity for operators to deliver programming and advertising that mirrors the diversity of the Web.”

Prior to heading ClickStar, Allibhoy spent more than three years as a vice president with Sony Pictures Digital, Inc., where his duties included interactive television, content distribution services and the development of the company’s Digital Service Platform and Digital Distribution products. Previously, Allibhoy founded and served as CEO of AccelerateTV, an interactive television infrastructure services provider that was sold to RespondTV. He also held positions at Time Warner Cable, Intertainer and other digital media firms.

ActiveVideo delivers Web-driven programming as MPEG video in combination with both live and VOD streams to provide an engaging, immersive TV- quality viewing experience via cable and IPTV networks. Viewers use standard remote controls to navigate ActiveVideo, which is fully compatible with all existing cable and IPTV set-top boxes, enabling the complete re-use of existing capital infrastructure. Kagan Research estimates that more than 49 million digital and IPTV set-top boxes have been deployed in the United States alone.

Capitalizing on the ability to deliver interactive programming as MPEG video to any digital set-top box, the ICTV ActiveVideo platform works with all video distribution infrastructures and set top boxes with minimal integration. Live and on-demand programming can be blended seamlessly with content that is created and modified quickly using standard Web tools and talent. Because ActiveVideo composites Web programming into standard video streams in the network and delivers it as standard on-demand MPEG streams, all that is required of a set-top box is a standard MPEG decoder and return path capabilities. As a result, programmers and advertisers create content once which can be delivered to every cable and IPTV set-top box, regardless of hardware, middleware and guide differences.

ActiveVideo Channels, which enable existing broadband programming networks to be delivered to the TV in real time as high-quality, subscriber-controlled television video, allow network operators and programmers to deliver a personalized broadband experience that includes video, navigational elements, channel branding, targeted, interactive banner advertisements, and links to different video segments. ActiveVideo Mosaic, the multichannel industry’s first customizable, personalized video-rich navigation system. provides easy to use navigation, allowing subscribers to view live video from and navigate through a number of channels at a single glance.