TV programming getting tied to technology. (Interactivity).

Although convergence as first hyped during the early days of the dotcom explosion has failed to revolutionize the television industry as quickly as first imagined, more and more new programs are becoming increasingly tied to digital and interactive technologies that are quietly but methodically changing the way television is produced and viewed.

Interactive television, for example, is being approached in two ways. The first is the two-screen experience where one watches TV while interacting on the computer, such as with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire where at-home viewers play along. The second is enhanced TV, which is marrying the video signal to interactivity so that all the interactivity takes place using just the television and set-top box. The explosion of PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) handheld technology is the latest wireless platform.

With close to 50 million Americans regularly engaging in "tele-webbing," -- watching television while multitasking on their PC -- dual screen interactivity is currently the most widely used form of interactivity. Children's networks such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network have led the way in this type of programming, regularly developing interactive components for their programs in which children participate online to win prizes. Recently, RealNetworks launched its subscription service and player, RealOne, which has several broadcast partners providing content, including ABC News.com, CNN, E! Entertainment Television and Fox Sports Net. So far more than 400,000 American subscribers pay $9.95 a month to have access to video and audio streams of shows such as CBS' Big Brother II, which gave consumers access to 24-hour Webcams monitoring the Big Brother II participants, or Survivor Insider, which makes additional footage not seen on television available every Friday morning.

According to CBS vice president, strategic planning and interactive ventures David Katz, more than 56,000 subscribers signed on for Big Brother II as an a la carte service. "We thought it might be similar to response rates on direct-response video sales, but the/re usually far lower than this," said Katz, who envisions more networks developing show-related subscription packages and video-on-demand. "I'm convinced that the networks will be able to find a compelling business model, but that's a little way away."

This year's VH1 My Music Awards Show incorporated a large online interactive component, allowing viewers to vote on awards until just before they were awarded. Web users also had access to five Internet-only camera feeds. "We've made a big point to make this more than just a feed of the show. It has to be complementary," said VH 1 Group Senior vice president Jason Hirschhorn.

Although the DTV rollout in North America lags significantly behind Europe, a variety of programs are incorporating aspects of the technology. Earlier this year, when A&E announced the acquisition of its first dramatic series, 100 Centre Street, Allen Sabinson, Senior vice president, Programming, A&E Networks announced the drama would "be produced using breakthrough high-definition video technologies." NBC now transmits The Tonight Show With Jay Leno in high-definition. ABC regularly broadcasts movies in HDTV and CBS' prime-time lineup, most of which was underwritten by Mitsubishi last year, continues in HDTV this year, backed by Panasonic. "Obviously, we have been out in front in getting high-definition programming on the air," said CBS' Dana McClintock. Over at Fox, its primetime time lineup is broadcast in a digital format called "standard definition," which offers a somewhat improved picture, and some shows, such as The X-Files and Ally McBeal, are shown in a wide-screen format. But perhaps the most bull ish programmer in HDTV broadcasts in the U.S. is PBS, which regularly airs high-definition programs. in addition, the pubcaster has aired interactive TV enhancements of its Scientific American Frontiers series this past spring and also multiplexes children's channels in their eight digital test affiliates.

According to government mandates, all commercial stations were supposed to begin digital transmission in addition to the regular analog signals by May 2002 -- a target many are expected to miss. The loophole for a 2006 deadline to shut off analog is the law that allows a local station to keep its analog spectrum after 2006 if less than 85 percent of homes in the station's area are equipped for digital TV. "It took color TV 22 years and VCRs 16 years to reach that penetration," former FCC chairman William Kennard has said. "If those are any indication, DTV conversion will take much, much longer than 2006, particularly given the way broadcasters are dragging their feet."

While game shows, such as Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, have been the easiest to adapt for interactive use, companies such as Sony are aggressively pursuing iTV as an option for scripted programming. Nicholas Wadke, senior vice president Interactive Television, Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, discussed the challenges the company faced making Pamela Anderson's syndicated series VIP interactive. "Making a drama interactive is not an easy task because generally, most of the audience will sort of give up their interactive experience with dramas and allow the director to tell the story as they see fit. The fine line we're walking is allowing the viewer to have a good dramatic experience, and at the same time, providing some degree of interactivity."

For the interactive version of VIP, viewers accumulate points by answering questions about the show, like trying to guess what Anderson would be wearing in the next scene. "What this provided is actually very interesting," said Wadke, "because it not only marries the viewer into the show, but it gets them involved. They stay for the duration of the show, because they want to post their score at the end of the show. It also encourages the viewer to watch again because if I've accumulated 500 points and I'm halfway to winning my Sony DYD player, you can be pretty damn sure I'm going to tune in next week."