For those who haven’t heard the news, we announced at the ANGA Cable Trade Fair in Cologne, Germany, that we’ve acquired our Dutch counterparts Avinity Systems. This brings together the two biggest providers of cloud-based interactive TV platforms and applications.

Beyond the usual back-slapping, self-congratulatory platitudes that accompany any such announcement, there’s a powerful underlying reason for this acquisition: the United States does not hold a monopoly on the idea of interactive television and the rest of the world is not necessarily following the same rote path to an end product that we are in the States.

In the U.S. we believe in standards such as those being set by the cable industry with EBIF and tru2way and other methodologies being developed by CableLabs. It makes sense for the industry to have a standardized approach and it makes sense for any vendor to bend to those standards.

The Europeans and the rest of the world have a different, more fragmented way of looking at things. Avinity, while starting to make a move into the U.S. market – and don’t think we didn’t notice that – is expert in the ways of international standards and measures. It’s the sort of experience you can’t get overnight but, thanks to capitalism, you can buy.

Our research shows that the world believes in interactive television but is somewhat stymied by fragmented set-top box issues that tend to slow innovation. This is exactly the kind of thing that works well for a cloud-based television provider like ourselves because we can work outside the box, so to speak.

In short, the rest of the world, which leads in so many mobile technology areas, is about a year behind the U.S. when it comes to interactive television and that presents an outstanding opportunity for a company like ours to work with a company like Avinity, a great bunch of guys who, culturally speaking, are on the same track as us. They believe in cloud-based interactive services and really believe in redefining television and that television should be good for people.

It’s a new era in the world of business. The nationalist walls have crumbled and markets are markets no matter what the geography. As a business you have to determine how best to compete in that space; increase you own effort, change your strategy or acquire somebody else’s effort and strategy. At the end of the day we figured, economically speaking, it was best to acquire a company that already is a ways down a path we’re blazing.

Beyond the economics, beyond the cultures, one thing stands out above the rest. Interactive television is not a U.S. trend; it’s not a regional fiefdom surrounded by a moat of indifference. It’s a worldwide phenomenon. That’s why we acquired Avinity and that’s why we announced the acquisition in Germany.

For all the media chatter today, you’d think that TV was a “Survivor” contestant who’s always just a few votes away from being booted from the island.  In a world awash in Web video, mobile content, Tweets and other alternatives, TV’s been cast as having a limited life span in the face of these newer, nimbler, seemingly more popular competitors.

But if Bob Crowley – a 58-year-old physics teacher, for Pete’s sake! – could come out on top earlier this year, then why should we be surprised that TV is continuing to hold its own against the media young?  When the chips are on the line for programmers and advertisers, television gets the thumbs-up just about every time.

Consider:  Even among the 18-to-24 year old group that is TV’s greatest “at risk” audience, live TV viewing still grabs roughly 30% more attention than all other “second screens” combined.  Three recent studies drew a direct link between TV impressions and market share, while a fourth showed that net recall of TV ads was twice that of magazine ads and almost triple that of Internet banner ads.  (Interestingly, eye-tracking software showed that 63% of web users didn’t even see the banner ads.)

Television – especially in an era of interactive TV programming and targeted advertising — isn’t going away anytime soon.  Even as retirement savings wither faster than last week’s prom flowers and salaries are about as stable as a Middle East peace, projections of big-screen TV sales growth this year still is expected to be about 17 percent. 

There are doomsayers who claim that the Internet is going to kill the television experience. Of course, there was a time when doomsayers said that television was going to kill movies. Instead, the film industry learned to accentuate its positives, leverage new technologies and recognize TV as a promotional partner.  Not for nothing, but didn’t some “Terminator” flick just open with about $77 million in box office?

At the end of the day, there’s a screen for every purpose.  The evolution of Internet video isn’t enabling the PC to replicate the TV experience, any more than television was able to replicate the movie experience.  (BTW, necking with your girlfriend when Dad’s in the rec room is especially tough, but that’s another issue.)

Like a good reality show contestant, TV is playing to its strengths.  And as long as it gives viewers a reason to vote “Yes” with their remotes, it will continue to stay on top.

There’s an opinion piece by CableFax [http://www.cablefax.com/cfp/just_in/Should-Cable-Let-Go_35615.html] that suggests that perhaps the time has come for cable operators to open up their “closed” networks, most notably by relaxing the industry’s grip on the set-top box environment.  The article points to Apple’s success with the iPhone App Store and argues that it is imperative for cable to similarly rethink its business models, so that it can more effectively position itself against online viewing at the PC and via other Web-connected CE devices. 

I have to respectfully disagree.

Not long ago, the conventional wisdom was that the cable operators were in danger of losing major market share, but the “TV Everywhere” model is changing that.  I’ve heard people call cable “slow moving,” but to my way of thinking, the operators seem to adapt “just in time”.  I think it’s interesting that this article uses the iPhone analogy, because that’s precisely why cable will continue to succeed.  It’s not like the iPhone is some processor-intensive piece of super hardware or that other phones can’t do most of what the iPhone can do (in fact, most people agree that it doesn’t make a very good phone); it’s that the iPhone makes it easy and convenient to do all those things.  That’s what cable has always been able to provide: Easy and convenient access to high-quality video entertainment.  Get the triple-play and simplify your life even more. 

There will always be the techies who want the latest and greatest, but let’s face it: most people just want a high-quality experience served up simply and easily.  With network-centric technologies like ActiveVideo, cable can provide more than enough functionality and interface design to compete with advanced set tops.  In addition, cable operators are now making inroads to deliver content through the Internet as well.  Couple that with the strength of the traditional content relationships between operators and programmers, and it’s clear that cable will continue to have the best selection of content, it will be conveniently accessible anywhere, and it will all be on one bill. 

Once again, cable will adapt “just in time.”

Ever been to a classic car show? Those babies with all their chrome and fins and excess metal bring back memories of simpler times. Of course when it comes down to it, you wouldn’t want to drive one today, not when even the cheapest new models have air bags and seat belts and navigation systems and disc brakes.

But wouldn’t it be neat if you could put all those great advancements into the ’57 Chevy ragtop?

Television is kind of like a classic car. There’s no small amount of nostalgia associated with old TV sitcoms and gathering the whole family on Saturday night to watch “Leave it to Beaver,” which, incidentally, can probably be found somewhere amongst the myriad of choices today’s viewers have. Television, today, though, is so much better than that grainy black-and-white family show. There’s high definition and remote control and interactive program guides and digital video recording.

But wouldn’t it be neat to put that old family TV viewing experience into the new TV program guide?

Unlike modernizing a ’57 Chevy, TV can be revamped without a big retrofit. There’s been way too much written about watching TV on computers and cell phones when the fact remains that the best way to watch TV is on a TV. It’s time for everyone in the video entertainment space to stop wringing their hands and bewailing the loss of viewers to the Web and take back what’s rightfully theirs.

Interactive TV is the enhancer and the answer to putting television back where it belongs. Television is no longer the 10-foot passive experience; depending on the level of engagement, it can be a lean-forward or a lean-back entertainment activity that the whole family can enjoy.

Seriously, there’s no better medium for watching video entertainment than a television. TV shouldn’t be losing viewers to the Web, it should be taking the enhancements of the interactive age and putting them to work where they can do the most for viewers, advertisers and service providers.

For viewers, this means embedding just the right amount of information and making it readily available. A viewer doesn’t want to read e-mail on a television screen, but seeing background gossip about the latest episode of a favorite TV show is a program enhancer that will keep that viewer entertained and coming back. Why send viewers off to a computer for background information that’s available for the taking on an interactive offering?

Advertisers want quality eyes watching their product. Interactive TV opens consumers’ eyes by delivering more than just a broadcast stream and, in fact, offering an engaging, targeted experience.

And service providers, particularly cable operators, can get more for their investment in programming and delivery simply by enhancing the way the content is presented without a major network overhaul.

Let’s take back the TV.

When you think about it, the much-beloved 426 Chrysler hemi of the late 1960s was really a pain in the rear to keep tuned and running smoothly. It looks great at a classic car show but today’s new computer-enhanced hemi is a far better engine, performance-wise.

The same can be said of television. What looks good in reminiscence is, actually, a weak product that can be made so much better with today’s technology. Rather than abandoning television, the media industry should be taking it back and putting it where it belongs: in the middle of the family room, providing information and entertainment and enhancing everyone’s lives.