NextGuide’s new website turns your friends’ Facebook likes into your TV guide
Ever wondered which movies and TV shows your friends like on Facebook. NextGuide makes it easy to find out – and then find services to stream these flicks. Read more »
Meet SnappyTV, the startup behind Twitter’s March Madness video strategy
What might the future of Twitter as a second screen for social TV look like? A partnership with a startup called SnappyTV and Turner will give consumers access to short video replays from March Madness, and the rest of us a look at Twitter’s business model. Read more »
Social fourth-quarter 2012 analysis
Interest may be weakening in consumer social media businesses. But social technologies are working their way deeper into enterprise computing, and social media is playing a bigger role across advertising and marketing sectors. Read more »
Exclusive: Peel partners with Samsung to take its social TV guide app international
Peel’s social TV guide is coming to the U.K., Germany, Singapore and 18 other countries, thanks in large part due to a partnership with Samsung. Users of Samsung’s Android tablets will be able to directly change the channel of their TV set with the app. Read more »
Why the iPad app NextGuide wants to be the Switzerland of TV guides
Would Xfinity’s iPad app ever tell you if a show is available on Netflix? Jeremy Toeman doesn’t think so, which is why his company built a TV guide app that tries to recommend content from all sources – a kind of Switzerland of TV guides. Read more »
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The state of cross-platform media measurement
Brand advertising’s focus on cross-platform media measurement has grown dramatically in the past five years. Within the next 36 months cross-platform digital video advertising will standardize, driven by the shift in media dollars to online viewing and the adoption of the Making Measurement Make Sense (3MS) initiative. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Connected consumer third-quarter 2012
The third quarter saw many parts of the traditional media business in flux. Other developments included the rollout of new device-based content ecosystems, red flags and red ink for traditional consumer electronics makers, and a resurgence of consumer purchases of movies. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
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Mobile 2012 and beyond
Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here are some noteworthy segments to watch in the coming months, from location-based shopping to apps to wireless networks. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Renewed or canceled? This social TV app thinks it knows
Now here’s an interesting use for social TV data: The iOS app Renewed predicts the fate of TV shows based on their number of check-ins. Renewed is a relatively new player, but its makers eventually want to take on Nielsen. Read more »
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Social-TV apps and consumer behavior
Social TV is any application, website or software that allows viewers to interact with television programming and share that interaction with others. Startups in this space hope to combine ubiquitous second-screen technology with well-established audience behavior to drive new value around shows. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Wywy wants to sync social TV, and scores $3m to do it
In social TV’s second-screen dream, timing is everything. And German startup wywy has just burst out of stealth mode with an impressive set of tools for keeping broadcasters, advertisers and viewers in sync — as well as control of long-established media monitoring service Idioma. Read more »
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Who and what to watch in the new era of the living room
The adoption of tablets, social media and new interfaces and the changing nature of the TV itself mean the digital living room will continue on its path of rapid change, thanks to new ways of creating, viewing, bundling, distributing and selling content. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Zeebox boss says smart TV is a dumb idea
Is the trend for smart TVs that connect to the Web and run apps a big mistake? Anthony Rose, the co-founder of hot social TV app Zeebox, took to the stage at MIPCube to suggest the future of television lies somewhere very different. Read more »
Tweek.tv’s social TV guide comes to the iPad
Tweek’s ‘next-generation TV guide’ unites different islands of online film and TV content with curation provided by Facebook’s social graph. Now it’s launching an iPad app for European users to try and convince more people to pick it up. Read more »
TVGuide.com buys online programming guide Fav.tv
TVGuide.com has bought Fav.tv in a deal that’s been described as an acqui-hire. The Fav.tv team will join TVGuide.com to strengthen its mobile strategy. One of the first tasks for the new hires: Make TvGuide.com’s personalized Watchlist recommendations a centerpiece of its mobile apps. Read more »
Miso crowdsources second-screen content with SideShows
Miso is rolling out the latest update to its second-screen app platform, letting users create second-screen experiences that go along with shows they’re watching. The new product adds a crowdsourced aspect to the types of companion content that viewers see when they launch the Miso application. Read more »
Spike gets social for 2011 Video Game Awards
When the 2011 Video Game Awards go live this weekend, Spike TV hopes to build buzz by live streaming the show online and with a number of initiatives aimed at harnessing conversation happening on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and GetGlue. Read more »
Tweek.tv wants to be your social TV guide
Tweek.tv wants to become your social TV guide and recommend interesting movies, TV shows and web content based on the things your friends have liked on Facebook. The German startup is emerging from stealth mode today and also announcing a first round of funding. Read more »
5 apps for finding your favorite TV shows
Consumers are using their mobile devices to figure out what to watch next, and a growing number of apps are being built to provide recommendations and help them learn what’s on TV at any given time. We’ve listed five of our favorites. Read more »
ClipSync wants to take videos viral, moment by moment
ClipSync Moments gives viewers the ability to share videos with friends on social networks. But instead of sharing a link to the entire video and having their friends search for the part it refers to, ClipSync attaches comments to a specific moment in time. Read more »
Hands on with Zeebox, your new social TV guide
The market for social television services is getting increasingly crowded, as companies try to build systems that combine broadcast and social networks. But could British startup Zeebox get the jump on the competition with its smart new iPad app and powerful team? Read more »
MTV exec: Social is a new programming platform
How can TV networks leverage the power of social networks to build their audiences? According to MTV EVP Dermot McCormack, social networks aren’t just for announcing when the next episode of Jersey Shore airs, but a whole new platform for media creation and distribution. Read more »
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Managing infinite choice: the new era of TV user interfaces
In today’s new universe of video content, consumers need more than a five-button remote to effectively navigate the thousands of choices available. Fortunately, the same technology that has made it possible to create so many offerings can also provide the intelligence to help us find what we want to watch. Though it’s not clear which of the new approaches will win, services from Microsoft, Google, Apple, Roku and others are leading the way towards enormous rewards when it comes to the new era of TV interfaces. Additional companies mentioned in this report include Rovi, Technicolor and Hulu. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Does online buzz equal real-world ratings? It’s complicated
Most word of mouth still occurs in face-to-face situations, but social media has emerged as a powerful tool for getting the word out about shows. Even so, until now there’s been some debate about how effective social media actually is in creating a ratings lift. Read more »
Infographic: These fall TV pilots rule Facebook & Twitter
Word of mouth has always been a huge factor for new TV shows, and these days, everyone is looking to Twitter and Facebook to gauge interest in TV show premieres. So how did the pilots of this fall TV season fare online? Check out this infographic. Read more »
Trendrr launches social media tools for TV networks
This year’s fall TV season is going to bring us a whole lot of hash tags. Trendrr’s new enterprise measurement tools can help TV executives understand whether initiatives like these are actually working, and who their top influencers tweeting about their show are. Read more »
Online video finally chipping away at broadcast TV
A quarter of people in countries with access to high-speed broadband are streaming their television, although more than 80 percent are also still watching broadcast television as well. According to data from Ericsson, fewer people are watching broadcast TV while Internet-options are on the rise. Read more »
Miso knows what you’re watching, no check-in required
Social TV app Miso just got a lot smarter. The application, which lets users check in and share what they’re watching on various social networks, will now be able to detect what they’re watching, as long as those users are subscribers of DirecTV. Read more »
How Google plans to change the way you watch TV
Google chairman Eric Schmidt was on a diplomacy mission to UK broadcasters late last week. His pitch? The Internet will make TV more personal, more social and enable better monetization and measurement opportunities. And Google wants to help them take advantage of those changes. Read more »
Tout goes beyond the iPhone with webcam video sharing
Social video service Tout is taking a big step to broadening usage, with new capabilities that will allow users to share moments with friends even if they don’t have its iPhone app. It’s also improved communications between users, with the ability to reply to friends’ videos. Read more »
Former Tremor CEO founds social TV startup for sports
Tremor Media executive chairman Jason Glickman is working on a new company called Connected Sports Ventures. While still in stealth, the startup looks poised to change the way people watch sports by connecting their social activity on second-screen devices with what’s happening on the big screen. Read more »
Meet Umami, the newest social TV startup
The latest company to enter the social TV fray isn’t being very vocal about its plans, but that’s hasn’t stopped it from being able to raise funds. Umami announced a $1.65 million funding round it will use to build out its social TV platform. Read more »
Fox urges web viewers to harass their cable companies
If you’re a cable provider, what do you do when Fox comes to re-negotiate its retrans deals, asking for more money now that it’s put its shows behind a pay wall? And what do you do when subscribers begin demanding access to Fox content online? Read more »
Tweet the heat: Twitter teams up with The Weather Channel
With temperatures reaching record highs, so do the number of heat-related tweets: Twitter sees up to two million weather tweets each day. The Weather Channel will now feature some of those tweets on air and on its website, thanks to an ambitious Twitter integration plan. Read more »
Hulu to launch subscription service in Japan
Hulu is turning Japanese with the launch of a subscription service in the country. The company today announced that it will launch the service before the end of the year, but declined to provide further details. Hulu actively looked for partners in Japan earlier this year. Read more »
DirecTV CEO downplays interest in Hulu
DirecTV has admitted to taking a look at Hulu’s financials to see if it’s worth buying. While the satellite provider could accelerate its rollout of TV Everywhere services with such a buy, DirectTV’s CEO said a Hulu acquisition isn’t necessary to achieve its long-term vision. Read more »
LocalResponse acquires Philo to target TV check-ins
LocalResponse, a targeted marketing company, has bought social TV start-up Philo as it looks to expand its service to TV check-ins. The company will soon be able to deliver targeted tweets to users as they watch a commercial on TV. Read more »
Time Warner to lean on Flixster for Ultraviolet rollout
Through the DECE’s UltraViolet format, Warner Bros. and other studios will begin making movies available for sale this year that can be purchased and watched on a number of different devices. Key to Time Warner’s introduction of these services will be its Flixster social discovery app. Read more »
Cord Cutters: A first look at the Roku 2
Roku just came out with a new generation of streaming media players, complete with support for Angry Birds and other casual games as well as advanced Netflix streaming. Want to see it in action? Then check out this week’s episode of Cord Cutters. Read more »
Best Buy tests the connected TV market
Best Buy is treading carefully into the connected TV space, introducing two new models of TVs that rely on a TiVo-powered user interface and Chumby apps for additional content. But savvy buyers might be disappointed by the lack of streaming services available on the new TVs. Read more »
