Social TV will bring content providers, TV networks, multichannel operators, and advertisers opportunity and challenges, according to new research.
The impact of social TV already is changing the way users view TV, moving it from “a passive consumption medium to a new kind of community experience, in which millions of Americans gather around the digital water cooler together to discuss TV shows in real-time as they watch programming,†said Joel Espelien, author of the report from TDG.
Espelien points out that the use of social TV apps has tripled, as users have rapidly adopted the technology that allows them to exert “an outsized influence that extends beyond social networks, as mainstream media repeat and amplify the reactions of social TV viewers for the rest of us.†He said the average social TV user has more than 500 Twitter followers.
For several years, the industry has been talking about how social TV will allow audiences to have a greater influence on everything from what kind of programs succeed, to the advertising shown and even the way story lines develop.
“The entire value chain must adapt to a world in which the audience increasingly becomes part of the program,†Espelien said.
There’s been a lot of research on Social TV recently, as it’s gained more attention—especially from advertisers.
Depending on whom you read, between 75 percent and 85 percent of viewers use other devices while watching TV, although only 37 percent to 52 percent are involved in social media. Women make up about 55 percent of the social TV app users and, surprisingly, the largest demographic to use social media to talk about shows are those 50 years old and older—they make up about one-third of the users.
In March, research from Gartner said a “combination of content integration, social interaction and loyalty programs are the key activities that will make up the social TV experience.”
To date, the company said, “efforts to connect traditional TV broadcasts to the Internet have largely been limited to either content companion websites or connected devices such as TVs and set-top boxes (STBs).†That hasn’t led to the creation of a true social TV experience for consumers.
But, Gartner posits, combining the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter to allow users to create and check status updates as they engage in real-time conversations related to TV programming, introducing apps that deliver bonus programming, tighter community engagement and larger social interaction through second-screen devices, and rolling out incentive programs that allow for more direct engagement with content to generate loyalty through rewards, check-ins and other gamification methods will help create a “holistic social TV experience,†one that will draw even more viewers into the fold.
