Time Warner Cable has struck a deal with BIAP, a privately owned company based in Plano, TX, to let customers make Internet bids through eBay on their television sets.
Time Warner Cable digital subscribers in Austin, TX, are now eligible to take part in a one-year test of new technology designed by BIAP to make cable television more Internet-like, Reuters reported.
BIAP’s software, when loaded onto Time Warner Cable set-top boxes, will let viewers click their remotes to view the status of eBay bids they originally made on their computer. Users can set the software to alert them on their TV screens if they are outbid, and can then use their remotes to raise their bids.
Time Warner Cable, through its partnership with BIAP, has already launched tests of similar applications that let viewers tailor their own interactive menus to access local weather, news, stock prices and sports team scores from their TV sets in four markets including Portland, OR, Maine and San Antonio.
