Verizon Unveils More Interactive TV Features, Including Navigational Shortcuts, in West Central Florida Region
January 21 2010 - 11:37AM
PR Newswire (US)
FiOS-TV Subscribers Can See Personalized Programming
Recommendations and Order ESPN Programming by Using Remote Control;
Cable Can't Match These Enhancements TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 21
/PRNewswire/ -- Verizon continues delivering the ultimate
home-entertainment experience with the introduction of even more
innovative interactive features for FiOS TV subscribers in
Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Polk, Manatee and Sarasota counties.
New updates to FiOS TV's Interactive Media Guide (IMG) include
increased video-on-demand (VOD) personalization, purchasing power
via remote control for Showtime and ESPN programming, gaming
widgets, and new navigational shortcuts that make exploring the
expansive world of FiOS TV faster and easier than ever before. The
new features have been available in Texas, California,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York and will be expanded to
all other FiOS TV markets over the next few months. "Because FiOS
TV is such a content-rich service, we're always finding new and
better ways of making it quick and easy to find the entertainment
you're looking for and to discover new shows and features through
our IMG," said Michelle Robinson, Verizon's Southeast region
president. "Our latest enhancements put new tools in customers'
hands to help them better search and enjoy our 18,000 monthly-title
VOD service, evaluate and purchase premium channels, and more
quickly access useful features like parental controls and in-depth
show descriptions. FiOS TV subscribers know that we'll keep taking
their home entertainment where cable can't go," Robinson said.
Among the new FiOS TV IMG features are: -- Recommendations For You:
Subscribers can sign up to see personalized VOD recommendations
that are based on movies they have viewed and ordered in the past
from the FiOS TV VOD library. -- More Like This: Subscribers can
click on a "More Like This" button when previewing a VOD title and
see additional, similar titles based on actors and genres. --
On-Screen Premium Programming Purchasing: -- ESPN: Using the FiOS
TV remote, subscribers can quickly and easily purchase a weekly
pass or full subscription to ESPN pay-per-view events, including
ESPN College GameDay and NBA Full Court Pass. -- Quick Guide TV
Options: A shortcut that makes it fast and easy to do the
following: -- Set global parental controls or block specific
channels. -- See a list of future times that a program will be
shown again. -- Record a show. -- See recommendations for shows
similar to the one that has been selected. -- Jump from a menu to
live TV. -- Quick Guide DVR Options: DVR shortcut providing
subscribers with the following options: "play program from the
beginning," "select delete," "save until I delete," "initiate
parental controls," "select closed captions" and "help." -- Full
Screen Program Information: Provides customers a full-screen view
of in- depth program descriptions, including cast, crew and plot
synopses -- Reversi Widget: One- or two-player game displayed on
the TV. Using the arrow keys on the FiOS TV remote control, players
move around the board to select an empty space to complete the
move. The player who fills the Reversi board with the most pieces
wins. -- Chinese Checkers Widget: Variation of traditional Chinese
checkers, with the goal of having one marble left on the board. The
player selects a marble using the arrow keys on the remote control
and then jumps over another marble to an empty space, removing the
jumped marble. A player's score is calculated by the number of
marbles left and total time spent playing the game. FiOS TV offers
a broad collection of programming, with more than 500 all-digital
channels, more than 138 HD channels and more than 18,000 monthly
VOD titles. FiOS provides next-generation interactive services
including an advanced interactive media guide; social-networking,
news and entertainment widgets; remote DVR management via broadband
or cell phone; multi-room DVR, Internet videos on TV; streaming of
personal videos, photos and music from home computers to the TV;
and many others. The service now also offers a new Widget Bazaar
applications marketplace that includes a selection of free
interactive services, including widgets that let subscribers
interact with Facebook and Twitter on their TVs. FiOS TV is
currently available to more than 10.3 million homes in 14 states.
For more information on FiOS TV, consumers can visit
http://www.verizon.com/fiostv or call their local Verizon sales
office or 888-438-3467. For the latest news, updates and
information about FiOS TV, visit http://www.verizon.com/newscenter
and http://www.verizon.com/athomeblog. Verizon Communications Inc.
(NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in
delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications
services to mass market, business, government and wholesale
customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable
wireless network, serving more than 89 million customers
nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications,
information and entertainment services over America's most advanced
fiber-optic network, and delivers innovative, seamless business
solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon
employs a diverse workforce of more than 230,000 and last year
generated consolidated revenues of more than $97 billion. For more
information, visit http://www.verizon.com/. VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS
CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies,
media contacts, high quality video and images, and other
information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World
Wide Web at http://www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases
by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized
automatic delivery of Verizon news releases. DATASOURCE: Verizon
CONTACT: Bob Elek, +1-813-483-2541, Web Site:
http://www.verizon.com/ Company News On-Call:
http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/094251.html
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