A character in Douglas Coupland’s Microserfs slagged interactive cd technology by saying, ‘It’s like trying to read a coffee table book with all of the pages glued together.’

That is in line with broadcast industry sentiment on a lot of new media/digital technology – some of it is neat, but it won’t nab a mass audience, so broadcasters opted to wait and see.

Which is why one of the big buzz words out there – interactive tv – remained fuzzy. Since traditional tv was taking too long to get interactive, developers and consumers alike cast about for a less awkward platform and wound up on the World Wide Web.

Yet itv producers are still eyeing the box as the ultimate medium. While technology on both sides – box and Web – remains a barrier, formidable companies are positioning themselves for the advent of real itv. It’s one of the reasons behind some of the merger frenzy.

The very old-school bbc recently announced a us$305 million plan to get digital and win back viewers from the BSkyB boys that entails an expanded Web presence, new subscription services like on-demand news and multimedia channels – services that would include hypertext backgrounders on drama and kids’ games.

Coming at it from a very new-school sophisticated software level, Microsoft is also morphing into interactive tv, plans that began in 1994 exploring things like the interactive version of Bill Nye the Science Guy, and culminating in deals like a $420 million joint venture with nbc news. wired reports Microsoft will spend $250 million a year on interactive advertising within the next four years.

In the meantime, what’s happening in Canada? We have broadband testing, we continue to hear about dth competition, and network Websites have sprung up. Online sites for networks and shows are providing a realtime reality check on what the audience is thinking. And as to realtime interactivity on tv, Citytv has been perpetrating a multimedia street version of itv for some time now, via City Interactive.

The strategy is to protect audience share and augment their core biz. Some Canadian broadcasters have multimedia digital services and alliances in the offing, but given the nature of the competition – highly focused international players tapping into world audiences via unregulated turf – is it all too little, too late?

We think not. The savvy and non-conforming spirit needed to break new tech ground is definitely here, as witnessed by the pioneering 100% cgi series ReBoot, which just picked up an International Digital Media award from camas. Hopefully ReBoot producer Chris Brough’s ‘welcome to a new world’ acceptance speech will jolt recognition of the open season tech has wrought – the borderless virtual reality of Microsoft and Disney, nafta’s cultural exemption precariousness – and into digital-age action. Anyone meekly waiting for Canada’s Information Highway policy to come down the pike, will miss the boat into the 21st century.