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Posted by: mysocial     

TV producers find themselves in a similar position to marketers in the interactive media revolution.   Their traditional role of thinking up programmes the public might want to watch and putting them on the air was pretty much a one-way communication.   Now they can take part in the conversations that have always gone on around TV shows.   So how are they responding and is there anything marketers can learn from their approaches?   Matt Locke, Channel 4 commissioning editor for education, and Philip O’Ferrall, senior VP of digital media at MTV Networks were unequivocal in their view that the first decision a commissioner should make about a programme is the amount of involvement they expect the audience to have through social media.   But Locke went on to talk about the need for a more nuanced approach, thinking in advance about what kind of audience interaction you want and planning for it.   His argument was that people only become dissatisfied if you promise them something but don’t deliver it.   This related to another point he made, that some genres of TV, such as cult drama, have adapted more readily to the social media environment than others, such as factual.   Locke argued the secret of encouraging interaction was to move away from tightly structured, highly polished shows towards something with holes that give viewers space to get involved.   He contrasted Channel 4's Secret Millionaire, a self-contained hour that leaves little room for audience interaction, with Surgery Live, which encouraged viewers to ask questions and join discussions.   The other problem is what happens to communities built around a programme when it comes to an end.   Both Locke and fellow panellist Stephen Haines, Facebook UK's commercial director, urged broadcasters to think about their exit strategies.   This remains one of the trickiest questions in brands’ use of social media.   Any exit must be carefully timed otherwise there's a significant risk of alienating core fans (or customers) and outweighing any benefit gained during its existence.   The alternative is to maintain the community, which eats up resources and is a drag on future developments.    Planning is key   Audience interaction through social media works best when it's included from the start.   This allows you to consider what type of interaction you want from your audience, which means you can plan for it when it happens and have an idea of both the scale and timing of the response.   And it points the way to clearer evaluation of any results achieved, beyond just numbers of fans on Facebook or followers on Twitter.

Tags: TV, Social, Media, Plan, Facebook, Twitter
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The world's first TV to be powered by Google's Android OS is due for testing this summer - but you'll have to go to Sweden to get your hands on one.   As unveiled over on Wired, the 'Scandinavia' from People of Lava will initially be beta-tested in a 42in form before being released in 42in, 47in, and 55in formats.   Featuring Google's Android operating system - more usually found on smartphones - the Scandinavia is designed to connect your living room to the Internet, with access to YouTube, Google Maps, Google Calendar, a full web browser, and up-to-date weather information.   Additional applications are also available to add support for popular microblogging service Twitter as well as the Facebook and MySpace social networking sites.   The specifications of the display are pretty impressive, too: a full HD 1080p panel with LED backlighting is backed up by VGA, component, S-Video, CVBS, three HDMI, and two SCART connectors - along with a USB port. A wireless keyboard is included, and the company promises to release optional - and as-yet unspecified - USB peripherals.   Built entirely on the company's own production line just outside of Gothenburg, the Scandinavia is expected to launch - pending the successful completion of this summer's testing - in September at around €2,000 to €2,500 (around £1,766 to £2,208) for the base 42in model.

Tags: Android, Google, OS, TV
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Television ratings for the Olympics were outstanding, while web stats for online engagement blew projections out of the water. Ratings for big events like the Super Bowl, the Oscars and the Grammys were up, and for each event, Twitter and Facebook were clogged with blow-by-blow commentary about everything on-screen.   Is it coincidence, or is there something to the theory that social media is giving TV ratings a boost?   If you ask Alon Marcovici, vice-president of digital media for the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, he thinks social media has the power to drive TV ratings and has already done so -- although he admits he can't prove it definitively.   He points to the men's hockey final as the event of the Olympics that potentially got the biggest bounce out of social media.   CTV reported the game had a viewership of 16.6 million people, although the audience surged to 22 million when the game went into overtime and Sidney Crosby scored the game winner.   Facebook says more than 3.5 million status updates were sent during the game and there were two major spikes of activity when the U.S. tied the game in the third period and when Crosby scored.   So did Twitter and Facebook users tip off their friends to a great game in action and convince a few people to turn on their TVs?   No one knows for sure but it's highly probable, Marcovici said.   "I'm a full believer that the social media tools helped get viewership (for the Olympics). ... Our ratings were through the roof but there's no way for us to denote whether they would've been through the roof with less Internet or more, less social media or more," he said.   "But it's a powerful word-of-mouth tool and I'm of the belief that good content is its own promotion. So if you've got a great piece of content, (chatter about it) is going to help drive people to watch."   He also pointed to an online chat attracting about 170,000 people during the men's hockey final as a major eyeopener. Those numbers rival the ratings of some shows on broadcast television, he said.   "You can put that up against a whole array of television channels and a lot of them don't get 170,000 people watching something on any given day."   But the CBC's head of television, Kirstine Stewart, doesn't believe the social media theory and instead points to changes in ratings measurement that have boosted the recorded audiences of shows in recent months.   "I don't think (social media) drive up viewership, I think what they do is make sure we keep our ground," she said.   "With (social media) it's not even that it's an extra add-on anymore, it's expected that you provide opportunities to talk about the shows, to be able to find out more.   "The online experience is no longer an extra extension of what you do on air, it's part of the whole delivery of what you give people."   Social media is definitely pushing more traffic to the websites of broadcasters and audience engagement around television shows is growing, said Matt Tatham, director of media relations for web tracking company Experian Hitwise.   Tatham assumes Twitter and Facebook have boosted TV ratings in some cases, although he too knows of no evidence to prove so.   "The traffic that Facebook and Twitter are sending to (websites of TV broadcasters) has increased quite a bit. There's been an increase of 24 per cent (over the last year) in the amount of traffic the two are sending to the broadcast media category in Canada," he said.   "It's a natural step in the evolution of the technology. People are watching TV with either a laptop or a smartphone in front of them these days."   But if social media can in fact giveth it can also taketh away, added Ingo Muschenetz of whatthetrend.com, a site that follows trending topics on Twitter.   Last July, expectations were sky high for Sacha Baron Cohen's film "Bruno," coming off the success of "Borat." The film struggled out of the gate and never lived up to its box office expectations. There was a lot of speculative blame placed on Twitter and the early online feedback that was predominantly negative.   Muschenetz said bad buzz about a TV show or film can have a bigger drag on a project than the impact of online praise.   "People seem to tweet more about the fact they're annoyed with something more than the fact they love it.   "Apple is an odd exception -- although people definitely (complain) about Apple as well -- but for a lot of brands the only time they trend is when people are unhappy with something they've done."   TV shows generally don't dominate the conversation on Twitter -- aside from massive events like awards shows, telethons and big sporting contests -- but Muschenetz also buys into the theory that ratings can get a nudge from social media traffic.   "I certainly think that's possible because people will tweet that a show is on right now and so as soon as a show starts, it often starts to trend and that could certainly remind people about a show," he said.   "I don't know if its tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of people being sent your way but there definitely is a reason why being a trending topic and getting people to chat about your show is financially valuable."   The theory might get another test on May 8, when Betty White hosts "Saturday Night Live." A Facebook campaign, called "Betty White to Host SNL (please?)!", was launched after the 88-year-old actress appeared in a Super Bowl commercial.   A couple months later, the wish was granted for the more than 490,000 members who belong to the group.   Will those Facebook users actually tune in for the show, and urge their online friends to do the same?   Will ratings be higher than average? NBC and SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels hope the theory is proven true.

Tags: Twitter, TV, Events, Media, Social
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Google, the internet giant, is believed to be testing a new technology which will allow consumers to search programme listings on their own television sets.   The new product, which utilises parts of Google's Android mobile operating system, also lets users find and watch YouTube video clips on their televisions.   The system, details of which were first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is currently on trial in a small number of homes belonging to Google employees and their families. The exact trial size not currently known.   However, it is known that Dish Network – a US satellite television provider – is working with Google on the trial, which is expected to be expanded should results prove to be promising.   The new technology has been installed in Dish Network's set-top boxes, which are then installed in the trial user's home.   Although not the first software company to become involved in this area – Apple and Microsoft have already ventured into the realm - rather than simply provide the technology, Google is understood to want use the system to target adverts specifically to television viewers. This would allow it to generate revenue which would ultimately be shared with the television provider.   Google's keyword search technology could also provide a significant breakthrough in the television search facility offered by most satellite and cable providers, which are renowned for being slow and clunky, and allows users to type on a keyboard rather than a remote control.   In an interview in January, Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, said it "makes sense that people would use Android as an operating system for set-top boxes and... TVs."   If successful, the TV search system would integrate well with YouTube, the online video site Google bought for $1.65bn in October 2006.   It would also no doubt link to its existing Google TV Ads, a digital platform that allows companies or media buyers to launch advertising campaigns relatively cheaply using the internet.   Separately, Cisco yesterday unveiled a new routing system that will allow web surfers to download videos and files far faster than has been possible in the past.   Although not quite living up to its own billing – Cisco had promised in advanced publicity that the product would "forever change the internet" – the new technology appeared to be a step forward.   Cisco's new CRS-3 router claims to handle internet traffic 12 times faster than rivals and is aimed at telecoms companies who want to provide faster services for their customers.   The hardware giant claims that the router could deliver the entire printed collection of the US Library of Congress – the world's biggest library – in just over a second.   But not everyone seemed convinced. "I don't think this product is going to change our lives in the next six months but maybe in the next two years," said analyst Kim Caughey at Fort Pitt Capital Group.

Tags: Google, Television, Plans
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We've seen telephonoscopes -- basically videophones -- in everything from "The Jetsons" to "Blade Runner." What we haven't seen is the videophone in our living rooms.

That may finally be changing.

The common use of videophones could happen through three technologies that separately aren't exactly considered bleeding edge today: high-speed Internet, a television, and Skype. Samsung says it will put the VoIP calling service Skype as an application on its televisions, allowing phone calls to be made on camera right from a couch.

The Samsung Skype-enabled TV follows similar announcements from Panasonic and LG at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

The models will range from to $1,200 to $2,000 for Panasonic's set. Samsung and LG have not yet announced how much they will charge.

The Skype on TV application should work similarly on all three models, which in turn should closely mimic the version of the application that many people use to make free PC to PC calls, or for a fee, PC to landline.

Skype accounts are free to set up and can be activated using the TV's remote control right on the screen. The video calls will also be free, as will voice calls between Skype users.

Using Skype to call traditional landline and mobile phones is a few cents per minute. Calls can be answered while watching a program, but it's not yet possible to both talk and continue to watch uninterrupted.

By the time these models actually hit stores in late spring there should be three TV makers offering Skype on their TVs (Samsung, Panasonic & LG).

Video calls today can be made online. They're easy and cheap, and of course don't require the purchase of an pricey new TV. A computer with a built-in Webcam and a voice-over-IP service like Skype or a chat application like Yahoo Messenger usually suffice, but it is still an activity that's attached to a computer, and therefore going to be intimidating to people who either don't like or have trouble with technology.

TVs are far more accessible though. Now with major companies like Samsung, Panasonic, and LG pushing the idea of the TV as videophone, the concept does at least have the chance to catch on.

But the quality may not be what some people expect, says DisplaySearch analyst Paul Gagnon.

"Teleconferencing is inherently kind of a low-quality experience, especially in a consumer home. On a computer it works OK, but blown up to the size of the TV, I wasn't terribly impressed with some of the demos at CES," he said.

And quality aside, even in terms of logistics, there's a lot to consider. Even with an Internet-connected TV, you still need a decent Internet connection, and for a two-way video call, you have to have people on the other end with the same set up. In other words, "it's really early," Gagnon said.

Consumer surveys show that people are beginning to buy Internet-connected TVs, which allow not just Skype calls, but also other activities on the TV that are normally confined to the computer.

Time will tell if videophones are just a fad or about to become an integral part of the modern idea of the "connected living room."
That includes accessing Internet radio and video streaming from services like Pandora and Netflix, and social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr.

Tags: Skype, TV, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Videophone
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Posted by: Editor     
 
This week sees the Beta launch of  new online streaming TV service SeeSaw, which has hundreds of hours of video from the BBC, Channel 4 and Five.
 
Content is mostly older shows, especially in the case of the BBC. The most recent episode of Doctor Who you can see, for example, is from 1989, and features Sylvester McCoy. Even Five seems to be keeping its newer material away, with the most recent Neighbours episode originally having aired in November last year. If you want to see newer stuff, it's all on the Web sites of the respective broadcasters, so you won't go without.
 
SeeSaw is, for the most part, advertising supported. In order to watch a TV programme you'll have to sit through a couple of adverts at the start of each show, and a couple in the middle. The number of commercials seems to be bearably low, although there's no guarantee this will remain the case forever. It's also suggested that SeeSaw will offer pay-per-view content at some point in the future.
 
Using the service is very simple -- there's no software to download and everything we tried to watch worked first time. The quality is fine in a window, although it does fall apart slightly if you enlarge it to fill your monitor. Some videos appear to have different quality settings, which makes it better for people with higher-speed Internet.
 
As things went fine with the restricted Beta trial, the service has now been made publicly available. Do not miss it!
 
Tags: Seesaw, Website, Internet, TV, Streaming, On-Dema...
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Posted by: Editor     
  
Tags: Online, TV, Video, Ratings, Popularity
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Tags: TV, Film, Rights, Online, Social, TV, Downloads, ...
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Social TV is slowly being imbibed with social networking. Thanks to a new deal between Orange and Twitter, people watching TV will be able to Tweet while watching specific shows. No doubt this idea came from the popular pastime of watching some huge program like the X-factor and posting up thoughts live. Now, your posts can appear on the TV.
 
The scheme is first to be launched here in the UK followed by France, Spain and Poland later on this year. Next year, the service will go out to the rest of Europe.
 
This idea of intergrating Twitter into its bank of Social Life digital networks has been taken a lot further and many are welcoming the opportunity to give it a go. However, we do not consider this service to be anything new. The idea of rolling text messages has been intergrated into the TV platform since the arrival of the mobile phone. Its popularity has lately been stunted and users may not see much difference with the Twitter service; instead of using a mobile phone to send a text which appears on screen, you will now be using an orange network mobile phone, logging on, accessing your account and then texting messages which will appear on the screen.
 
"By integrating Twitter into our various mobile and internet services we are making it a greater part of people's every day lives," reckons Paul Francois Fournier, Orange's executive vice president.
 
There will be a cost. To use the service, users will need to activate mobile Twitter which will be available to all Orange customers. There will be a cost for each Tweet sent, no different to a standard text message. It seems as though Orange are merely trying to make more money out of their customer base who have a love for using twitter, not offering anything new but just changing the platform to one that is currently popular. But like all things, it is a question of just waiting and seeing how the service turns out and whether it indeed does have more to offer than we are being told.
 
Tags: Twitter, Orange, Deal, Service, TV, Social, Netwo...
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Sony Playstation 3 owners account for 10 percent of all BBC iiPlayer users.
 

 
The Windows PC is the most popular format used to view the on-demand catch-up service. However, the number of PS3 users has overtaken the number of viewers using a Mac to watch the service, which is currently just 8.5 percent.
 
"User response to [the] iPlayer for PS3 has been amazing, [it] now accounts for a massive 10 percent of all iPlayer viewing," said BBC online media spokesperson, Anthony Rose.
 
The news came early this September as the BBC revealed it was considering opening the iPlayer up to third parties and hosting their content on the catch-up service.
 
Erik Huggers, director of future media and technology at the BBC also said that Coronation Street was one of the most-searched terms on the iPlayer, even though the soap is actually shown on rival ITV.
 
"It is not a concept of aggregation, but federation. It is about making sure each of the broadcasters around the world can continue to have a direct relationship with their users," Huggers said
 
However, the proposal has not been finalised and would be subject to the approval of the BBC Trust. The BBC, along with Channel 4 and ITV, has already been involved in a similar service.
 
First announced in November 2007, Project Kangaroo was billed as a 'one-stop shop' for video content online and was expected to offer users more than 10,000 hours of TV, with around 90 percent available for free and the rest available for rent or purchase.
 
However, the service was halted by the Competition Commission in February this year, after an investigation revealed it posed a threat to competition.
 
Tags: BBC, Iplayer, Kangaroo, Content, PS3, Users, 10%,...
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