Intertainment Media, a Richmond Hill, Ont.-based software developer that earlier this month launched a voice-powered desktop app called itiBiti systems, yesterday confirmed a partnership with NBC.com, itravel2000.com and agency partner, Omnicom Group (OMG).
NBC.com is launching a communications program that allows users to watch NBC programming through ItiBiti. ‘It’s going to allow users to basically engage in NBC activities and use voice-powered communication to share experiences and show information,’ says David Lucatch, CEO of Intertainment Media, in an interview from the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, where the announcement was made. The partnership with NBC was in part negotiated by Highway Entertainment, an OMG entertainment and sports unit based in Toronto.
OMG will also connect Intertainment with its portfolio of global brands that the media company represents. Toronto-based online booking site itravel2000.com, which has more than 1 million Canadian travel consumers, will have a branded application on ItiBiti that will include videos and a news ticker. Itravel2000 is slated to release details of their customized private-label application in coming weeks.
There is an upfront work fee for brand partners like NBC.com, which varies with each partner’s needs, says Lucatch, and ItiBiti also shares in profits from any new revenue model that involves the application. For brands that want to advertise on a particular application, rates are set by the brands that own them, he explains. Individual ItiBiti features like a video player, social media sidebar and big box ad area can all be sponsored by brands, and several Canadian broadcasters are also currently reviewing and testing the application, Lucatch says.
