Oct. 26, 2009 (Business Wire) -- OpenTV Corp. (NASDAQ:OPTV), a leading software and technology provider of advanced digital television solutions, and British Sky Broadcasting Ltd (Sky), a leading pay-TV operator in the UK and Ireland and current OpenTV customer, have extended their relationship. Sky has licensed OpenTV’s patents and other intellectual property rights to support ongoing development of the company’s digital television platform. Additionally both companies will now work on a proof of concept which if successful could lead to the deployment of OpenTV Core 3 on some of Sky’s set-top boxes.

OpenTV Core3 is OpenTV’s recently announced next generation middleware that combines a top-to-bottom open architecture with a unique design that simplifies the integration and deployment of everything from complex consumer user interfaces to interactive services and application widgets.

Founded in the early 1990s, OpenTV is one of the pioneers in the development of advanced digital television services and solutions and maintains an industry-leading intellectual property portfolio with more than 700 patents issued worldwide and many others pending. The company has been a technology provider to Sky since the initial launch of its digital TV service in 1998, and this latest agreement between OpenTV and Sky further recognizes OpenTV’s investment and leading role in the global digital TV space.

“OpenTV and Sky have built a strong relationship over the last ten years,” said Ben Bennett, OpenTV’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are pleased to have the opportunity to enhance our relationship by combining IP licensing with technology provision. Sky continues to be at the forefront of digital TV innovation, and we are pleased to continue to fully support this important customer.”

“At Sky, we’re continuously striving to bring our customers the best service possible by investing in high-quality content and cutting-edge product innovation. This new agreement with OpenTV underpins our strategy of continuous product innovation. OpenTV continues to be one of our key partners and we look forward to exploring how we might develop our relationship further,” said Roger Lambert, Sky’s Director of Customer Technology.

About OpenTV

OpenTV is one of the world’s leading providers of advanced digital television solutions dedicated to creating and delivering compelling viewing experiences to consumers of digital content worldwide. The company’s software has been integrated in more than 133 million devices around the world and enables advanced program guides, video-on-demand, personal video recording, interactive and addressable advertising and a variety of enhanced television applications. For more information, please visit www.opentv.com.