WHY INTERACTIVE TELEVISION HAS NO FUTURE
By Al Ries

What are the three biggest, most exciting, most dynamic industries in America? Many people would say computers, TV and the Internet.
27 years ago: Qube
Qube was the start of the grand vision of interactive TV. Twenty-seven years later we're still waiting for the vision to work.

Great, why not combine the Internet with your TV set and your computer? And so the cry goes up, interactive TV, the wave of the future.

Some wave. In spite of decades of hype, interactive TV has gone nowhere.

It was almost 27 years ago that the world's first commercial interactive TV service opened for business in Columbus, Ohio. Called Qube, the service offered 30 channels of TV divided equally between 10 broadcast channels, 10 pay-per-view channels and 10 channels with original interactive programming.

Built by Warner Communications, the system cost $23 million to install plus the $200 cost of a set-top box for each of Qube's 50,000 subscribers.

Artículo completo en Advertising Age