A company has an application out that allows viewers of television programming to have a second screen going simultaneously, allowing them to engage in running commentary with other users about the program being watched in real time. In addition to engaging America’s multitaskers, it can enhance advertising value.
The product is called TV Tune-In, and it’s described as an “Audience Engagement Platform.” It comes from Rogue Paper Inc., a subsidiary of East Coast Diversified Corporation.
The platform can be called up on a second screen – computer, notebook, smartphone – and it tracks the user’s time zone and the program currently being watched. That opens up the social media opportunity. Explains Rogue, “Viewers can just plop down on the couch, turn on both screens, and dive into the sea of snarky comments about their favorite shows. The app allows users to watch live and time-shifted, to enjoy the entire delicious dish in sync with the episode you’re watching on your TV or laptop.”
The concept taps into the 40% of consumers identified by Nielsen who use television and other digital devices simultaneously.
Rogue addresses the possibility that users will tune out commercials in favor of reading the “snark,” but the silver lining is that many will immediately use their web connection to act on commercial messages. 19% say they have searched for further information about a product while watching TV, and 13% say they’ve searched for coupons.
The other thing advertisers will like about the platform is that it unsurprisingly attracts demographic that tilts decidedly to the young side.
Stephanie Boyle, the CEO of Rogue Paper, Inc. commented, “From the 1950s when viewers gathered around the television and discussed the programs, to conversations happening in real-time, television has always been social. TV Tune-In harnesses the social aspect of television and provides a toolkit for Broadcasters to engage their audiences and actively participate in the conversations happening around their content. “
RBR-TVBR observation: We’ve heard of cross-promotion for years – get the message here, get it again later over there, there and there. But its clear that increasingly we live in a world where cross-promotion can happen simultaneously.
