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Quotes
| “Gronmark is widely recognised as a pioneering force behind a number of groundbreaking interactive BBC productions such as Wimbledon, Walking With Beasts and Test the Nation.” |
| From “Scott Gronmark – Interactive TV Doesn’t Have to Prove Itself” by Jonathan Webdale, New Media Age, 11th March 2004 |
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| "We have discovered, over the years,
that the simpler the interactive service, the better," says
Scott Gronmark, head of interactive services at the BBC. "People
don't necessarily want to choose between five or six things
on a menu. They just want something that makes the programme
more enjoyable." |
| From "Karaoke Christmas" by Sally
Kinnes, Sunday Times, December 2003 |
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Gronmark is a passionate believer in
the ability of interactive TV to provide an attractive
reason for subscribing to digital TV.
"Potentially, interactivity adds so much
to the TV viewing experience, I'd be astonished if it didn't
turn out to be a major driver," he says.
Viewers will increasingly demand such
services, he argues. "If you're a sports fan, within a
couple of years you're going to feel really left behind
if you're not getting all the services you can get from
all of this," he says. |
| From " A Force Among the Remotes" by
Alastair Ray, Mediaweek April 2002 |
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| "A lot of our commercial colleagues
saw interactive TV as a way to make up for a lot of dot-com
failures," said Gronmark -- particularly in the area
of e-commerce. "Their reaction was: Let's flog things
on interactive TV instead. But they didn't figure out what
to sell people or whether this would be a good experience
through your TV screen." |
| From "BBC Puts Viewers in the Luge
Seat" by Jackie Bennion, Wired News, February 2002 |
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BBC Interactive is headed up by Scott
Gronmark, an imposing bear of a man in stature, but with
a disarmingly friendly manner.
Having spent more than 10 years on the
production side at BBC News, preceded by a stint as an
author, colleagues say that he has brought an element of
urgency and realism to the blue sky thinking of interactive
television.
"We spent the first 18 months trying
to attract everyone's attention," says Gronmark. "Sometimes
it's difficult for non-new media people to see the potential
because they see a 30-page text service, which was the
first thing we put up on ONdigital two years ago, and say
'is that it?'"
You get the feeling that now, however,
the BBC has put its interactive credentials at the top
of its priority list and seeks to show how public service
broadcasting can translate to a 21st century television
landscape. |
| From "BBC Interactive head sports
upbeat agenda" by Owen Gibson, Mediaweek, July 2001 |
| "The BBC is by far the largest producer
of Interactive Television in the world" |
| American Film Institute, October,
2003 |
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