We speak to Terry Denson, Vice President of Programming and Marketing at Verizon.

Mr. Denson oversees the creation and implementation of video product packaging, pricing and marketing strategies; video content acquisitions; and customer acquisition, retention and education for Verizon.


The last time we spoke, in June of last year, you said that the ability to optimise the consumption of content regardless of time or location will become one of the most appealing aspects for customers of FiOS TV.  How has Verizon advanced these plans since then?

We continue to work toward making content available on multiple screens.  For example, we were the first TV provider to offer EPIX, the new movie channel with exclusive content from Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM, which offers our FiOS TV customers content on-demand, in HD, and online – with mobile programming planned for the future. 

Last year we also added online access to the New York Yankees’ YES Network, which enables our TV customers to stream live Yankees games in market.  Our Verizon Wireless customers also have seen an increase in content on their mobile devices.  As the largest wireless distributor in the US with the most advanced network, we’re in the best position to take advantage of inter-platform delivery.

You also mentioned that the more Verizon's interactive services allow customers to immerse themselves in the content of their choice and their communities (both physical and virtual), the more effective your interactive services will be.  Having added Facebook and Twitter to FiOS TV already, what else do you have planned?

We now offer more than a dozen widgets on FiOS TV, allowing our customers to interact with their TVs in a way that’s really unmatched by any of our competitors.  We introduced our first two widgets - traffic and weather - in 2006, giving customers the ability to check real-time weather and traffic information on their TV screens without interrupting programming. 

Today, our Weather Bug widget includes radar imagery and long-term forecasts and we have a NYC traffic widget that features local street cam views.  You mentioned our Facebook and Twitter widgets, which bring FiOS TV viewers into the social media world.  And that Internet-to-television experience was enhanced further with access to online videos on the TV screen from Dailymotion, Veoh and blip.tv. 

Going forward, our Widget Bazaar open development platform will help support more interactive capabilities.  A colleague of mine recently blogged about widgets and the plans for 2010 [available here]

As the 2010 football World Cup nears, many North Americans will be glued to their television to cheer their national team on.  What plans do you have in place to enhance the viewing experience during major international sports events such as these?

We’ll of course offer the World Cup coverage from ESPN - in standard-definition and in HD.  And we offered many viewing opportunities for customers during the Winter Olympics, with programming available on FiOS TV in SD and HD as well as on VOD; online with live coverage and highlights; and on Verizon Wireless’ V Cast video service.  

In addition, all of our FiOS TV customers had access to an interactive TV experience with an on-screen application that enables viewers to access real-time medal counts, athlete bios, team USA reports, news and more, all with just a touch of the remote control.

Do you think that 3DTV might become a feature of FiOS TV within the next five years?

We’ve already offered some 3D programming on our video-on-demand platform, and we continue to plan more of that programming.  As new 3D programming emerges during the next few years, we plan to be at the forefront, as we’ve been with HD.

Where do you still see obstacles to be overcome in the continued growth of telco TV services?

We’ve overcome a lot of the obstacles that we faced as a newcomer several years ago, and now we’re just looking to continue our growth.