Trusted Opinion Announces Social Networking TV at IBC2009

Trusted Opinion kick-starts the IPTV middleware social networking experience with 1,000,000+ member community

AMSTERDAM — Trusted Opinion, the premier Social Recommendations Network, announces the immediate availability of its Social Networking TV product for IPTV middleware providers.

Today’s announcement at IBC2009 conference in Amsterdam marks a milestone in the movement to bring social networking to television: IPTV subscribers can now connect to their existing friends on all leading social networks (including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and more), and receive their friends’ movies recommendations directly through their TV set. Friends can rate movies, give each other “Respect” for great reviews, and drive VOD sales with targeted recommendations and social games.

Trusted Opinion provides a kick-start to any IPTV deployment with a built-in community of over one million users. IPTV middleware providers now can leverage Trusted Opinion’s addictive Social Recommendations Network by connecting their subscribers with a thriving community of movie fanatics who share opinions about movies and TV.

“Trusted Opinion Social Networking TV extends the phenomenal viral growth and addictiveness of the Social Web into IPTV middleware,” said Shahar Smirin, CEO of Trusted Opinion, Inc. “For the first time, middleware providers can enable subscribers to interact with friends and share opinions on VOD content, driving purchases and VOD consumption. Our Social Networking TV product bridges the gap between the 10-foot set-top box experience and a browser-based social network by seamlessly integrating Trusted Opinion’s popular online Social Recommendations Network into IPTV middleware.”

Trusted Opinion Social Networking TV works with any existing IPTV product and was recently selected by Orca Interactive, a leading provider of IPTV middleware, who saw the benefits of jump-starting IPTV deployments by engaging subscribers in an active social community.

Middleware providers can use any combination of Trusted Opinion Networking Social TV services to create a unique experience for subscribers. The services enable interaction with existing social networks, and deliver social TV games where subscribers can rate and review VOD movies and earn “Respect” from friends. The opinions of the IPTV subscribers combine with millions of existing ratings from the Trusted Opinion community to form the basis for great VOD recommendations from day one.