Interactive media company SinglePoint claims it has processed 35 million interactive TV transactions initiated by mobile text message users in the third quarter.

Companies such as SinglePoint are driving the growth of the iTV industry, forming partnerships with entertainment media companies and offering technology to execute campaigns.

"Sending text messages is extremely popular in North America and growing on a daily basis," said Philippe Poutonnet, director of marketing for SinglePoint. "It's good news for wireless carriers, it's more money for everyone in the industry."

On the brand side iTV is said to enhance more stickiness and involvement for brands, leading to the creation of user profiles that marketers can use to deliver targeted messages, he said.

"From a marketing perspective, we're creating inventory, which means the interaction between the viewer and the program can be monetized in various ways," Mr. Poutonnet said.

According to Nielsen Mobile's Premium SMS report issued Oct. 31, more than 52 million iTV transactions were made by mobile text message users on the AT&T Mobility, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless carriers. An estimated 35 million of those were processed by SinglePoint.

These included transactions from popular TV shows such as American Idol, Deal or No Deal, Project Runway and America's Next Top Model.

"Project Runway has been extremely innovative -- they want to make sure that the viewer feels involved, so they do a lot of mobile alerts," Mr. Poutonnet said.

Niche shows are also generating humungous amounts of messages, such as BET's hit series Take the Cake, he said.

SinglePoint said it engages with an audience of more than 220 million mobile users, working in partnership with mobile network and portal operations, entertainment media companies, brand managers and advertising agencies.

The company offers a suite of services to create, launch and manage iTV campaigns. Its services include mobile message connectivity, applications, reporting and analytics.

"We've personally seen the [iTV] market growing 17 percent month-over-month," Mr. Poutonnet said. "It's one of the fastest growing segments of data sold by mobile operators."