Two days after rival QVC disclosed
plans for an interactive-TV shopping application,
HSN said it has landed a patent covering
aspects of its own Shop by Remote service.
HSN was awarded U.S. Patent No. 7,752,083,
“System for Improved Interactive Television Processing,”
on July 6. The patent, applied for in November
2007, covers a “transactional environment”
between a server and one or more set-tops.
HSN is considering “direct monetization” of
the patent “via nonexclusive licensing arrangements,”
vice president of advanced services John
McDevitt said in a statement.
The HSN Shop by Remote service, launched
in 2006, is currently available in more than 30
million homes through Comcast, Dish Network,
Verizon Communications’ FiOS TV and Time
Warner Cable Oceanic in Hawaii.
QVC is working with interactive-TV developer
Ensequence on an on-screen shopping application.
The companies had said they expected to
deploy their T-commerce app with Comcast sometime
in early 2011, but last week the MSO said it is
only considering the QVC app and does not have
specific deployment plans at this point.
