New York - Prizemo, a developer of interactive entertainment for online, mobile and TV audiences, announced on Monday its official launch, and the debut of its first game show, "Show You the Money." New York-based Prizemo was founded by CEO Jakob Kuznicki, former vice president of licensing at Jamba; and Anthony Rodol, former director of new media and mobile at Warner Music Group. "Show You the Money" is an interactive TV game show where viewers are encouraged to text answers to trivia questions for the chance to win free ringtones and other mobile content.

San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) and Intel (NASD: INTC) on Wednesday announced a partnership that will see them collaborate on the development of Web widgets that will bring interactive features to TV viewing.

Waltham, Mass. - Navic Networks, a provider of audience measurement data and software for optimizing the delivery and placement of interactive TV ads, has been acquired by Microsoft (NASD: MSFT). While terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, TechCrunch pegged the purchase price at between $200 million and $300 million.

New Orleans - OpenTV (NASD: OPTV), a provider of interactive TV software and services, said on Tuesday that NBC Universal (NYSE: GE) has signed a deal to use its OpenTV Participate solution to power and manage its interactive TV applications across Web, mobile and set-top box platforms. The deal follows a successful test of OpenTV's system on a series of interactive TV application's for "Heroes" by NBC.com.

Burbank, Calif. - Dreamer, a Korea-based interactive TV developer, said on Tuesday that it has opened an office in Burbank, Calif. to market its Biddle technology, a platform that lets content distributors deliver customized, interactive programming and services to networked Blu-ray Disc players or PlayStation 3 consoles. Dreamer said its Biddle platform is currently in use by over one million subscribers in Korea.

Valley Stream, N.Y. - Zodiac Interactive, whose interactive TV software has garnered the company an Emmy award, announced on Wednesday that it has sold its Zodigo mobile content search engine through a management buy-out led by Matt Johnston, formerly Zodiac SVP of strategy and CEO of Zodigo.

New York - KickApps, a provider of on-demand social media technology, said on Wednesday that it will power the online community functions for "Upstaged," a new multi-platform reality TV show from Endemol that will air on the BBC in the U.K. The show will see amateurs submit audition videos of their particular talent, with the best then chosen to face off head-to-head with the goal of entertaining a live audience. Viewers will then vote on these competitions and eventually choose an overall champion.

Las Vegas - The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), a trade group of companies in the mobile entertainment industry, on Monday introduced its US Participation TV Code of Practice, which it calls "a practical framework on issues such as the presentation of pricing information on TV, radio and in print to dealing with consumer queries, building viewer-friendly applications which are easy to use and putting in place mechanisms for refunds." The MEF said the Code came about as a result of issues related to mobile-enabled TV broadcasts, such as "entries being accepted for votes or competitions after the official closing time, primarily due to latency issues with capacity, and a lack of pricing transparency leading to consumer confusion over the cost of services."

Palm Desert, Calif. - Zodiac Interactive, a developer of software for interactive television, on Monday introduced its new mobile content search engine, Zodigo, at the DEMO 08 conference. The search engine is compatible with digital TV systems, next-generation DVD players and game consoles, and enables consumers to use their TV remote control or PC to discover and download mobile content to their mobile phones.

Portland, Ore. - More than seven out of ten TV viewers polled in a recent survey said they use their remote controls for simple interactive tasks -- like navigating electronic program guides or scheduling recordings -- and a majority of these also showed interest in increased interactivity for reality shows, sports and even commercials.

San Francisco - OpenTV (NASD: OPTV), a provider of interactive TV software and services, said on Monday that Auction Network, the first U.S. TV network devoted to the auction industry, will use its services to power its live Internet auction business and upcoming television launch. San Francisco-based OpenTV will handle all auction transactions, allowing viewers to interact in real-time with the TV programming via the Web, Internet telephony, mobile devices and eventually set-top boxes.

Seoul, South Korea - A group of consumer electronics, technology and broadcast companies have formed dotTV, a consortium that aims to bring interactive elements like social networking and online video to the TV viewing experience.

Rockville, Md. - Hillcrest Labs, the developer of a platform that lets consumer electronics manufacturers and service providers create interactive digital media products, said on Monday that it has raised $25 million in a new round of funding, led by new investor AllianceBernstein.

Santa Monica, Calif. - Jacked, a developer of Web-based interactive TV software for the sports market, this week extended its deal with NBC, and will now power NBCSports.com's Play Action for "Sunday Night Football" broadcasts. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Jacked's Sportstop browser-based virtual desktop, which "analyzes live broadcasts to deliver contextually relevant content to online users in real-time," ha previously been used by NBC Sports for its Notre Dame football broadcasts.

Boston - Backchannelmedia, a provider of digital TV ad serving and response capture services, announced on Monday that it has raised $3 million in new funding, capping its first round at nearly $10 million.

Wilmington, Del. - Zone4Play, a developer of Internet, TV and mobile games content, announced on Wednesday that it has formed a joint venture with interactive TV production company Two Way Media, to exploit opportunities in the U.K. gambling and entertainment market.

San Francisco - OpenTV (NASD: OPTV), a provider of interactive TV software and services, announced on Friday that it has settled its lawsuit against former competitor Liberate Technologies, with Liberate admitting that it infringed two OpenTV patents.

Bellevue, Wash. - SinglePoint, a provider of mobile and interactive TV marketing services, announced on Monday that it has partnered with NBC Universal to manage multiple media campaigns for NBC Universal properties. Bellevue, Wash.-based SinglePoint will develop text news alerts, mobile voting, sweepstakes, contests and personalized content for NBC, CNBC, MSNBC, Bravo, USA, Telemundo and other properties. The companies previously collaborated on campaigns for the Kentucky Derby, Bravo's "Shear Genius" and SciFi's "The Lost Room."

San Francisco - AirPlay, a provider of interactive TV game technologies, this week announced a deal with TV producer Endemol USA, to launch a mobile phone-based interactive TV element for NBC's "Deal or No Deal." The "Deal or No Deal: Live TV Challenge" game, set to launch in January on most mobile networks, will let viewers play along and answer questions in real-time, with the chance to win prizes and chat with other viewers.

London - Miniweb Interactive Limited on Thursday announced the launch of its interactive TV services company, which was formed following a buyout of the assets and infrastructure of the SkyKeys/Internet Sites services and global licensing of TV browser technology from BSkyB, a unit of News Corp. Financial terms of that deal were not disclosed. London-based Miniweb says its service will replace SkyKeys and be available in over 8.5 million BSkyB households by the end of the year. The service will combine TV viewing, online services and interactive advertising across multiple TV distribution systems.