Rob Wiesenthal, chief financial officer of Sony America and chief strategy officer of Sony Entertainment, says TVs will get access to video content through tablets which would enable, for example, Sony’s Video Unlimited subscribers to go to a friend’s house and “throw” a film to the TV set.
“If you think back five years, it was all about the boxes; Tivo, Slingbox, Roku,” he said. “I think consumers really had box exhaustion.” Apple’s AirPlay, for example, allows iPads and iPhones to wirelessly connect to TVs.
Sony is using the Digital Living Network Alliance standard to interoperate with different manufacturer’ devices without the need for a box.
“Other benefits include the lure of offering more targeted advertising through an IP-enabled tablet than has proved possible through set-top boxes, and the advantages of finding content on a tablet rather than by aiming a remote control at a TV 10 feet away,” reports Financial Times.
In order for this approach to work, however, home Wi-Fi networks will require the capacity to transfer large video files without interruptions and cable providers will need to be willing to make content available this way.
Just in time for the fall premiere season, NBC has updated two of its iPad apps. The network has enabled its NBC app to stream full episodes and has added new social features to its NBC Live second screen app.
The new NBC Live additions are based on lessons the network has learned about how viewers have been using the app.
They noticed, for example, that different shows (scripted, reality and live TV) produce different viewer interaction, which has helped the network decide which shows to focus on inside the app for the new season.
People expect to share comments on Facebook and Twitter, and log in via either service (features that have been added to the app).
Some users prefer if content and interaction (such as slideshows, video and polls) did not interrupt the app conversation, so the interface has been improved. They also found that during “The Voice” last season, fans wanted to vote for contestants via the app just like they could on NBC.com.
Vivi Zigler, president NBCUniversal Digital Entertainment says that there’s “an elegance” to building an app with a specific purpose.
As for whether NBC is considering TV Anywhere authentication like Fox, “at this point, it’s not part of the plan,” she said, explaining that NBCU’s distribution arm has been examining that approach.
Due to the growing popularity of tablets, smartphones, laptops and other devices, TV audiences are becoming increasingly busy interacting with other screens while watching their shows.
According to a Harris Interactive survey, more than half of Americans surf the Internet while watching TV, forty percent visit social networking sites and 37 percent are busy texting.
Marketers can take the distraction and convert it to an opportunity by embracing “distraction media” as a tool for supplemental or enhanced consumer engagement.
Examples of current transmedia successes include the TV series “Eat St.” that has its own iPhone app featuring location-based vendors on the show — and Old Navy, that has commercial spots allowing smartphone users to buy the clothes being featured or download the song being played.
