Companies are pushing to reinvent the way viewers discover and share TV programs via new integration with social networking outlets.
“App developers are updating the traditional channel guide to show viewers programs that are uniquely relevant to them based on their social circles,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
TV viewers not only have a virtual water cooler at their disposal for discussing their favorite shows, but now mobile apps help share programs that their friends like based on their preferences.
“We can help people discover what to watch in a fundamentally new way,” says Alex Iskold, chief exec of AdaptiveBlue, maker of social TV app GetGlue. “When you sit down on the couch, you’re wondering, ‘What do I watch?’ These kinds of guides are going to become pretty ubiquitous.”
The apps hope to extend a broader shift for social TV, going beyond the original check-in approach for friends to share information (the article suggests the check-in never achieved a critical mass necessary to launch a viable social community).
“In coming weeks, GetGlue plans to relaunch its app as a social TV guide that will show a scrolling calendar with the shows, movies and sports that users’ might like,” notes WSJ. “It will show whether friends who use the app are watching the same show.”
The GetGlue guide will interact with Facebook’s Connect feature in order to “pull in data from friends, so that the guide becomes fully educated on what people like and watch.”
The companies behind the free apps “are trying to offer complimentary advertising on smartphones and tablets to make money,” explains the article. “For example, if someone is watching a pizza commercial, the app could offer a coupon for the pizza shop on the user’s smart device.”
The article also describes similar social TV apps from companies such as Peel Technologies, Dijit Media and TVGuide.com.
No Comments Yet
You can be the first to comment!
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.