Eagle Star makes entertaining moves

NEWS Insurance firm, Eagle Star Direct, is joining up with ecommerce specialist Entranet and cable company Telewest, to move into interactive digital TV. The company will go live with its own dedicated site providing content and video-on-demand on the Telewest 'Active Digital' DTV platform. Telewest plans to launch its service on 27 March. According to Steve Scott, head of interactive channels at Entranet, the site will be about more than selling insurance. "You'll get something you wouldn't necessarily expect from a company like Eagle Star. People will use the site for entertainment - we'll slip commerce in through the backdoor." Entranet will provide dedicated television programmes for the site, the company has hired ex-BBC staff to work in its production department and plans to work with other independent production companies. "Eagle Star have already decided they have to become an entertainment company," Scott said. "Now we have to pin down how they plan to move their brand into the entertainment market."