It seems that online TV is the 'thing' amongst major automotive manufacturers. After BMW, Audi, Mercedes and others Honda announced that its online TV channel is live at this address www.honda.co.uk (just click look for the Honda TV link). The Honda TV will broadcast films, video clips and award-winning adverts.
Honda Press Release:
HONDA’S ONLINE TV CHANNEL GOES LIVE
Honda has launched an innovative internet TV channel to broadcast its own films, video clips and award-winning adverts to bring the brand even closer to its customers.
Honda TV has been designed to meet the demand for video content online – with research suggesting over 25 million Britons watch an average of 80 videos a month via the internet*.
The channel is easy to use and ‘on demand’, so viewers can watch what they want, when they want and fast forward, pause and replay at will. In fact it’s the first automotive TV portal designed with ‘on demand’ broadcasting in mind.
To view the exclusive Honda-produced content visit www.honda.co.uk and click the ‘Honda TV’ icon at the top of the homepage.
“Our TV advertising campaigns and our involvement in F1, motorbike and powerboat racing, means we produce a lot of compelling programming which the public actually wants to see,” said Ian Armstrong, Manager - Customer Communications, Honda (UK). “Honda TV is an ideal way of gathering the very best of what’s available together in one easy-to-use package.”
The launch of the channel follows a successful
trial of the technology on the Home Choice network last year. Although an initiative of Honda (UK) the internet platform makes the company a global broadcaster.
There are four main areas available on the channel. Watch our adverts features Cog and Choir as well as short films about ASIMO (the face of the channel) and special edition ‘making of’ videos for recent commercials.
Explore our cars features videos of Civic Type R, Civic and FR-V. The Type R video shows Jenson Button taking the revvy-car for a spin. More videos of other models will be added soon.
Experience Honda includes driving tips (from how to overtake a caravan to what wobbling jelly can tell you about your driving style) plus films from Honda’s driving experience day at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Racing Honda offers films centred on Honda’s F1 involvement and success in the Isle of Man TT races. Finally, a Contact Honda section will link viewers back to the website where they can order a brochure or book a test drive.
Design
Honda TV is deliberately simple to use. It features minimal text, a stripped-down navigation system and needs as few clicks as possible to get around the service. When viewers are in video-watching mode, typically they want to move onto the next video as quickly as possible. So to save time, the channel will predict viewer preferences and offer similar videos to save the user needing to search. For instance if they’ve chosen to watch ‘Cog’, they’ll be offered a film about how it was made.
Honda TV was developed by broadcast specialists, Zype. Business Development Director, Andrew Howells comments: “The television industry is changing rapidly and Honda is changing too, shifting from traditional television advertiser to internet broadcaster. It was already a leader in red-button interactivity because of the quality of its content. Video on demand is the logical next step – and a far more powerful and versatile proposition for customers.”
Online users with a broadband connection who use Internet Explorer 6 or 7 will be able to watch Honda TV without having to download any extra software. A version for the Firefox browser is being developed.
Eventually Honda TV will evolve to include Person-to-Person technology - a revolutionary service which allows customers to speak directly to a Honda representative via live images on their computer screen.
