Ensequence adds interactivity to DIRECTV’s ‘Passions’

Viewers of NBC’s soap opera “Passions,” airing exclusively on the DIRECTV service, are now able to interact with the program in new and engaging ways using their remote control. The show’s one-hour episodes air Monday through Thursday, and a four-hour marathon is available every Saturday.

DIRECTV is using the Ensequence on-Q Publish suite to allow viewers to respond to daily on-screen questions during the broadcast of “Passions.” Five new questions are offered each day, and viewers can see immediate results to test their knowledge of the show. Viewers can play as many times as they want to attempt to earn a perfect score.

The on-Q Publish application enables DIRECTV to quickly and easily upload questions, update answers, modify content and assign a manual or random rotation to questions. The on-Q Publish suite offers a Web-based content management and publishing system that allows DIRECTV personnel in multiple locations to manage interactive TV content on a daily basis.

This application also enables Ensequence to create and test new interactive applications for deployment on DIRECTV. Ensequence has a content development and testing facility in-house at DIRECTV, due to its status as an approved application development partner.

To participate in the interactive programming, subscribers with an interactive TV-capable set-top box tune to channel 101 and interact with their TV remote control unit.

Using the on-Q Publish application, DIRECTV is able to capture important viewer metrics, including the number of viewers who opted in to the interactive experience, specific content they interacted within the experience, time spent within the application and number of times they interacted with the content.

For more information, visit www.ensequence.com.