The differing names are only used for marketing purposes – the entire system is owned by Rovi Corporation, the successor to Gemstar-TV Guide International.
It was also available for broadcast and cable services in Canada, France, Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
Companies that manufacture products that are compatible with the system include those made by Channel Master, Hitachi, JVC, Matsushita/Panasonic, Thomson (RCA, GE and ProScan), Samsung, Sharp, Sony, LG Group and Toshiba.
The Program and System Information Protocol (PSIP) utilized by the ATSC standard allows for each television station to send out its own program listings information; in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires broadcast stations to provide programming information over PSIP, but not cable providers, unless they rebroadcast a broadcast television station that provides PSIP data.
While the TV Guide service also requires software installed in a television set or other device, and licensing fees or royalties must be paid to Rovi, it also offers a more complete solution for broadcast television, more like digital satellite or digital cable.