Interactive TV technology vendor BCM has been granted its second U.S. patent, which covers a method delivering interactive triggers to TV viewers that link them to related content on computer networks, such as the Internet.
U.S. Patent No. 8,160,064, "Systems and methods for providing a network link between broadcast content and content located on a computer network," describes a system that uses "tokens" embedded in a television broadcast that communicate with a set-top box. The company applied for the patent in October 2009, and the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office granted it on April 17.
BCM's first patent, U.S. Patent No. 8,051,455, "Systems and Methods for Providing a Token Registry Encoder," was Issued Nov. 1, 2011.
The Boston-based company's customers include cable operator Knology, which is using the system in Montgomery, Ala., to deliver interactive features in programming on Raycom's WSFA and Woods Communications' WCOV stations.
BCM, formerly known as BackChannelMedia, also has been developing the ability to dynamically switch between locally inserted Enhanced Binary Interchange Format (EBIF) interactive events and nationally inserted EBIF events with "pre-bound" and "late-bound" ITV events.
