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2005

Demon Web Hosting to provide secure, cost-effective platform for
e-business companies wanting to launch sites on Sky

Demon today announced it has been chosen by Sky Interactive as the first hosting provider for its new interactive TV portal. The new service will enable Sky customers to access a range of Internet services that have been adapted specifically for television.

The portal, due to be launched later this year, will provide another distribution channel for Internet content and enable website operators to have a presence on interactive TV. With a potential audience of 20 million users in Sky households, this is a fantastic opportunity for the business community to promote their company and services – in a cost effective manner. The Demon Web Hosting platform has been enhanced to automatically enable interoperability with interactive TV and support sites that will be available via the Sky portal.

As Sky’s first approved hosting provider, Demon will provide a flexible, secure, reliable and cost-effective way for customers to receive website content on TV. Using this portal, Sky aims to attract new entrants to interactive TV and stimulate further innovation . With 10 million viewers already accessing Sky’s interactive services each month, the portal will provide significant new revenue opportunities for companies interested in service delivery to non-PC devices, offering an new route to market for brands wanting to reach a wider audience.

Organisations already using the Demon service for hosting their websites will be advised that they can make their site available to Sky users with no upfront charge. Sky will recommend the Demon Web Hosting service to customers for hosting their sites on the new portal. Organisations can buy a commercial Demon Hosting package that works on the Sky portal, from as little as £11.75 per month including VAT.

Ian Valentine, Technical Alliances Director at Sky Interactive, explained: "By creating this interactive television portal we are allowing a diverse range of businesses and other organisations to deliver their content to a larger audience and attract new customers. Demon is one of the most respected brands in the industry and we are delighted to be able to recommend a trusted hosting provider to businesses wanting to use our new portal.."

Phil Male, Chief Operating Officer at THUS plc, said: "We’re delighted to be working with Sky on this exciting new project. THUS has enjoyed a close working relationship with Sky for a number of years and being chosen as the approved web hosting provider for its new interactive TV portal is a further endorsement of our expertise in the Internet and iTV arena. We’ve always aimed to be platform neutral in the delivery of Internet services, to provide our customers with access at any time and in any location. The new Sky portal is an extension of this philosophy - bringing Internet content into consumers’ homes via interactive TV."

To deliver content on the portal, organisations will be able to adapt their website content by converting to the WTVML format, a mark-up language that provides a content authoring format for interactive television service applications based on Internet standards. Users will be able to access services using conventional URLs or via the portal’s listings page and online search engine. Organisations can also register ‘shortcodes’, called Skykeys which allows users to jump directly to a site without having to browse through sites or put in the standard URL.