Social television
Encyclopedia
Social Television is a general term for technology that supports communication and social interaction in either the context of watching television
, or related to TV content. It also includes the study of television-related social behavior, devices and networks. Social television systems can for example integrate voice communication, text chat, presence and context awareness, TV recommendations, ratings, or video-conferencing with the TV content either directly on the screen or by using ancillary devices. Social television is very active area of research and development that is also generating new services as TV operators and content producers are looking for new sources of revenue. While a number of existing social television systems are still at a conceptual stage, or exist as lab prototypes, beta or pilot versions are available commercially. White-labeled social TV platforms have also emerged (such as Visiware
's PlayAlong, LiveHive Systems and Ex Machina's PlayToTV) which allow TV networks and operators to offer branded social TV applications. On the ratings front, companies such as Networked Insights
and TrendrrTV have emerged to measure the social media activities tied to specific TV telecasts. In essence, these new companies seek to serve as the Nielsen Ratings
of the social televisions space.
Social TV was named one of the 10 most important emerging technologies by the MIT Technology Review on Social TV in 2010. And in 2011, David Rowan, the Editor of Wired magazine named Social TV at number three of six in his peek into 2011 and what tech trends to expect to get traction. Ynon Kreiz, CEO of the Endemol Group told a packed crowd at the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in January 2011: "Everyone says that social television will be big. I think it’s not going to be big — it’s going to be huge".
lost since the advent of multiple-screen households, which discourage gatherings to watch television together, social television aims to connect viewers with their friends and families even when they are not watching the same screen. As a concept, social television is not linked to a specific architecture such as cable television
, IPTV
, peer-to-peer
delivery, or internet television
(over the top or OTT). Nor is it necessarily limited to a traditional television screen, but could also be presented on a computer
or handheld device such as a cell phone, tablet
or netbook
.
Social TV started in the early 2000s with limited success as the creation of the shared connections was cumbersome with a remote control and the User Interface (UI) design made the interaction disruptive to the TV experience. But social networking
has made Social TV suddenly feasible, since it already encourages constant connection between members of the network and the creation of likely minded groups. The shared content and activities often relate to TV content. At the same time, the smartphone
market has been growing quickly. 86% of Americans already use their phones while watching TV. A recent AC Nielsen survey also revealed that 33% of consumers regularly use mobile apps while watching TV.
The tandem growth of smartphones and social media has paved the way for the social TV market to take off; multiple startups have recently appeared in the field. According to a Parks Associates Industry Report, over one-fourth of users ages 18–24 are interested in having more social features integrated into their TV-experience. The most desired social experience was in multiplayer games, though a close second was
to chat with others who were watching the same program. Generation Y
, those currently 18–28 years old, have been found to actually access the internet more often than they watch television. The same research shows that 42% of the members of this generation access an Internet video at least monthly. And the industry is taking note: popular video sites are now more and more allowing viewers to interact.
Visiware
was the first company to create an application that allowed TV viewers to actively participate in a TV Show as it was broadcasting, via Internet. As of May 2010, the first concept of PlayAlong was created. In October 2010, german TV channel ZDF
was the first to adapt PlayAlong for one of its TV shows: Rette die Million! (based on Endemol
’s The Million Pound Drop Live). United States, France, Spain, Netherlands and Hungary also launched PlayAlong as about 10 other countries by the end of 2011.
The main research areas include the creation of a simple user experience across multiple platforms that encompasses aspects of development platforms, devices and networks. Also necessary are easy ways to filter casual acquaintances their social network from "real" friends or affinity circle members, with whom an individual would actually want to share thoughts or comments in a more private environment. Also because of the multiplicity of platforms recent work has also addressed the networking fundamentals behind Social TV. The MIT Media Lab
has held a graduate class on Social TV since 2009. Other research organizations active in Social TV include British Telecom, Motorola
Research and Microsoft
Research.
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, or related to TV content. It also includes the study of television-related social behavior, devices and networks. Social television systems can for example integrate voice communication, text chat, presence and context awareness, TV recommendations, ratings, or video-conferencing with the TV content either directly on the screen or by using ancillary devices. Social television is very active area of research and development that is also generating new services as TV operators and content producers are looking for new sources of revenue. While a number of existing social television systems are still at a conceptual stage, or exist as lab prototypes, beta or pilot versions are available commercially. White-labeled social TV platforms have also emerged (such as Visiware
Visiware
Visiware, S.A. is an interactive television agency in North America and Europe. It is based in France.Founded in 1994 by Laurant Weill, Visiware is a French publisher and distributor of video games for interactive television, mobile phone and internet, and a specialist in casual gaming...
's PlayAlong, LiveHive Systems and Ex Machina's PlayToTV) which allow TV networks and operators to offer branded social TV applications. On the ratings front, companies such as Networked Insights
Networked Insights
Networked Insights Inc. is an analytics software company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin with additional offices in New York City and Chicago...
and TrendrrTV have emerged to measure the social media activities tied to specific TV telecasts. In essence, these new companies seek to serve as the Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
of the social televisions space.
Social TV was named one of the 10 most important emerging technologies by the MIT Technology Review on Social TV in 2010. And in 2011, David Rowan, the Editor of Wired magazine named Social TV at number three of six in his peek into 2011 and what tech trends to expect to get traction. Ynon Kreiz, CEO of the Endemol Group told a packed crowd at the Digital Life Design (DLD) conference in January 2011: "Everyone says that social television will be big. I think it’s not going to be big — it’s going to be huge".
Description
The concept of socializing around TV content is not new. But Social TV is creating the cyber-living-room and cyber-bar to enable increased interactivity around shared programming both live and time-shifted. In an attempt to recapture the social aspects of televisionSocial aspects of television
The social aspects of television are influences this medium has had on society since its inception. The belief that this impact has been dramatic has been largely unchallenged in media theory since its inception...
lost since the advent of multiple-screen households, which discourage gatherings to watch television together, social television aims to connect viewers with their friends and families even when they are not watching the same screen. As a concept, social television is not linked to a specific architecture such as cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
, IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
, peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer
Peer-to-peer computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions tasks or workloads among peers. Peers are equally privileged, equipotent participants in the application...
delivery, or internet television
Internet television
Internet television is the digital distribution of television content via the Internet...
(over the top or OTT). Nor is it necessarily limited to a traditional television screen, but could also be presented on a computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
or handheld device such as a cell phone, tablet
Tablet
A tablet is a pharmaceutical dosage form. It comprises a mixture of active substances and excipients, usually in powder form, pressed or compacted from a powder into a solid dose...
or netbook
Netbook
Netbooks are a category of small, lightweight, legacy-free, and inexpensive laptop computers.At their inception in late 2007 as smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low cost — netbooks omitted certain features , featured smaller screens and keyboards, and offered reduced computing...
.
Social TV started in the early 2000s with limited success as the creation of the shared connections was cumbersome with a remote control and the User Interface (UI) design made the interaction disruptive to the TV experience. But social networking
Social network service
A social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
has made Social TV suddenly feasible, since it already encourages constant connection between members of the network and the creation of likely minded groups. The shared content and activities often relate to TV content. At the same time, the smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
market has been growing quickly. 86% of Americans already use their phones while watching TV. A recent AC Nielsen survey also revealed that 33% of consumers regularly use mobile apps while watching TV.
The tandem growth of smartphones and social media has paved the way for the social TV market to take off; multiple startups have recently appeared in the field. According to a Parks Associates Industry Report, over one-fourth of users ages 18–24 are interested in having more social features integrated into their TV-experience. The most desired social experience was in multiplayer games, though a close second was
to chat with others who were watching the same program. Generation Y
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
, those currently 18–28 years old, have been found to actually access the internet more often than they watch television. The same research shows that 42% of the members of this generation access an Internet video at least monthly. And the industry is taking note: popular video sites are now more and more allowing viewers to interact.
Visiware
Visiware
Visiware, S.A. is an interactive television agency in North America and Europe. It is based in France.Founded in 1994 by Laurant Weill, Visiware is a French publisher and distributor of video games for interactive television, mobile phone and internet, and a specialist in casual gaming...
was the first company to create an application that allowed TV viewers to actively participate in a TV Show as it was broadcasting, via Internet. As of May 2010, the first concept of PlayAlong was created. In October 2010, german TV channel ZDF
ZDF
Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
was the first to adapt PlayAlong for one of its TV shows: Rette die Million! (based on Endemol
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
’s The Million Pound Drop Live). United States, France, Spain, Netherlands and Hungary also launched PlayAlong as about 10 other countries by the end of 2011.
The main research areas include the creation of a simple user experience across multiple platforms that encompasses aspects of development platforms, devices and networks. Also necessary are easy ways to filter casual acquaintances their social network from "real" friends or affinity circle members, with whom an individual would actually want to share thoughts or comments in a more private environment. Also because of the multiplicity of platforms recent work has also addressed the networking fundamentals behind Social TV. The MIT Media Lab
MIT Media Lab
The MIT Media Lab is a laboratory of MIT School of Architecture and Planning. Devoted to research projects at the convergence of design, multimedia and technology, the Media Lab has been widely popularized since the 1990s by business and technology publications such as Wired and Red Herring for a...
has held a graduate class on Social TV since 2009. Other research organizations active in Social TV include British Telecom, Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
Research and Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Research.
TV Shows with Social Integration
Here are some examples of how TV executives are integrating social elements with TV shows:- ZDF's Rette die Million! allows TV viewers to play and answer the same questions as they appear on TV during the whole two hours show.
- Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
’s inaugural Comedy Awards used a Promoted Trend and a TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
hashtag in the corner of the broadcast for the full two hours of the show. - BonesBones (TV series)Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
added a hashtag on-screen in April 2011 - Breaking InBreaking In (TV series)Breaking In is an American television series which premiered on Fox on April 6, 2011. The series aired at 9:30 pm as a midseason replacement following American Idol. The half-hour workplace comedy stars Christian Slater, Michael Rosenbaum, Odette Annable, Trevor Moore, Alphonso McAuley and Bret...
added a hashtag on-screen in April 2011 - C-SPANC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
streamed tweets from US senatorsSenatorsThe term Senators can refer to:*The members of a senate*The Ottawa Senators, a National Hockey League ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada...
and representatives during the quorumQuorumA quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...
call - Top Gear has an integrated FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
branded page and has integrated Facebook into its website. After each episode ends, Top Gear posts clips of the last episode on Facebook. - American IdolAmerican IdolAmerican Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
is piloting a programme where users can login with Facebook and vote for their favourite candidate for free. - The VoiceThe Voice (U.S. TV series)The Voice is an American reality talent show that premiered on April 26, 2011 on the NBC television network. Based on the reality singing competition The Voice of Holland, the series was created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. It is part of an international series...
had the judges of the program tweet during the show and the posts scrolls on the bottom of the screen. The use of Twitter also led to an increase in viewers. - "GleeGlee (TV series)Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
" Entertainment Weekly created a second screen viewing platform for the Glee season 3 premiere.
Related Publications
- Erika Jonietz. "Making TV Social, Virtually" MIT Technology Review. (January 11, 2010)
- InteractiveTV - News about the evolution of social TV as it emerges on interactive multiplatform television. Founded in 1998. www.itvt.com
- 2BeOn (Abreu, Almeida, Branco) – 2001
- Reality Instant Messenger (Chuah) – 2002
- Reflexion (Cullinan, Agamanolis) – 2002
- TV Cabo Interactiva (Quico) – 2003
- AmigoTV (Alcatel-Lucent; Coppens et al.) – 2004 www.ist-ipmedianet.org/Alcatel_EuroiTV2004_AmigoTV_short_paper_S4-2.pdf
- Social software for set-top boxes (Coates) – 2005
- Lora Oehlberg, Nicolas Ducheneaut, James D. Thornton, Robert J. Moore, Eric Nickell. Social TV: Designing for distributed, sociable television viewing. In Proc. of EuroITV (Athens, Greece, May 2006).
- Social TV: Designing for Distributed, Sociable Television Viewing (Xerox PARC; Oehlberg, Ducheneaut, Thornton, Moore, Nickell) - 2006
- CollaboraTV: Using Asynchronous Communication to Make Television Social Again. (AT&T Labs-Research; Harrson, Amento) - 2007
- ConnecTV: Share the Experience (TNO ICT; Boertjes) - 2007
- AMUSE: Mobile TV becomes Social - Integrating Content with Communications (ftw.; Schatz) - 2007
- Ambient Social TV: Drawing People into a Shared Experience. (Motorola Labs; Harboe et al.) – 2008
- Facebook meets TV (MIT Media Lab, Baca and Holtzman) - 2008
- Nextream (MIT Media Lab, Martin et al.) - 2010
- Netstairs – Social Networking Live
- Social Interactive Television: Immersive Shared Experiences and Perspectives (P. Cesar, D. Geerts, and K. Chorianopoulos (eds.)) - 2009
- Social TV and the Emergence of Interactive TV - Multimedia Research Group - November 2010
Systems
- GetGlueGetGlueGetGlue is an entertainment-based social networking website for mobile devices. Users "check-in" to the entertainment that they consume using a website, mobile website, or a device-specific application....
The largest social entertainment network in terms of activity. Users check-in to shows, socialize with friends, get recommendations, and earn rewards (Social TV application for iPhone, iPad, Android, and GetGlue.com) - WiOWiOWiO is a free mobile application that enables users to receive information, as well as various deals and discounts, from the brands they see advertised in television commercials and programs.-Technology:The app uses digital audio identification technology...
(free mobile application enabling users to receive information, as well as various deals and discounts, from the brands they see advertised in television commercials and programs) - BoxeeBOXEEBoxee is a cross-platform freeware HTPC software application with a 10-foot user interface and social networking features designed for the living-room TV...
(TV content shared with friends) - Xbox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
- Tank Top TVTank Top TVTank Top TV is a website providing personalized programme listings and recommendations for online TV in the United Kingdom.Tank Top TV aggregates listings from BBC iPlayer, Channel 4, ITV Player and Demand Five. Users can personalize their listings by removing programmes or categories they are not...
(Social TV application, UK only) - PlayAlongPlayAlongPlayAlong is a massively multiplayers dual screen interactive experience, synchronized with TV shows. It can be used via various devices such as PC, Mac, tablets or smartphones....
- Youtoo Social TV A Social TV Network That Allows Millions to be on TV. Users can upload 15sec videos called "Fame Spots" to the US-based Youtoo TV national cable network using smartphones, tablets or personal computers. (Social TV application for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Youtoo.com)
See also
- Interactive televisionInteractive televisionInteractive television describes a number of techniques that allow viewers to interact with television content as they view it.- Definitions :...
- Personal broadcastingPersonal broadcastingPersonal broadcasting and Personal mobile broadcasting is a term for participatory journalism that focuses on television webcasting over the internet and mobile internet. The term is akin to "personal publishing" which is synonymous with blogging...
- Smart TVSmart TVSmart TV, which is also sometimes referred to as "Connected TV" or "Hybrid TV", , is the phrase used to describe the current trend of integration of the internet and Web 2.0 features into modern television sets and set-top boxes, as well as the technological convergence between computers and these...
- Social aspects of televisionSocial aspects of televisionThe social aspects of television are influences this medium has had on society since its inception. The belief that this impact has been dramatic has been largely unchallenged in media theory since its inception...
- Social Network ServiceSocial network serviceA social networking service is an online service, platform, or site that focuses on building and reflecting of social networks or social relations among people, who, for example, share interests and/or activities. A social network service consists of a representation of each user , his/her social...
- Social softwareSocial softwareSocial software applications include communication tools and interactive tools. Communication tools typically handle the capturing, storing and presentation of communication, usually written but increasingly including audio and video as well. Interactive tools handle mediated interactions between a...
External links
- NoTube is a EU funded project researching new forms of social television
- Social TV, part I – making the TV experience more social - Association of International Broadcasters, The Channel Magazine
- Social TV, part II - Blue Ocean Strategy - Association of International Broadcasters, The Channel Magazine
- EuroITV – European Interactive Television Conference (held each year)
- uxTV - International Conference on Designing Interactive User Experiences for TV and Video
- Social TV Reloaded- Twenty Best Solutions
- TV Together (Zoom in - Zoom out - based on mobile phones)
- Participatory TV and Film Personalizemedia
- Micro-communities of episodic entertainment viewers
- Connecting couch potatoes (Peer Pressure)
- Second sight (Dave Birch of The Guardian introduces the idea of sending videoclips to other people's set-top boxes)
- Alcatel whitepaper on Amigo TV
- PARC to Make TV Watching More Social (Business Week Online)
- Socialized TV Presentation
- Accessible social software for set-top boxes
- Searching for the ‘Social’ in Connected TV (appmarket.tv)
- Social TV's State of the Industry: Reaching The Peak of Expectations. Time to Manage Them We Say (appmarket.tv)
- Social TV's Multi-Purposeness: Social media Offers Never-Had-Before Super Qualitative Measurement and Analytics. USP Over Other Channels (appmarket.tv)
- Endemol Worldwide Brands Unveils Global Gaming Deal for The Money Drop