The media engagement Shazam has announced that it has achieved the milestone of exceeding a quarter of a billion users globally. Shazam also announced that it has expanded its Shazam for TV second-screen service in the US to support TV programming on any channel, anytime of day. Now, Shazam fans can use the app as a “TV companion app” with any TV show in the US to access cast details and photos, music in the show, celebrity gossip, trivia, celebrity tweets, and links to additional information, plus the ability to instantly share and comment on the show or episode on Facebook and Twitter.

“With more than a quarter of a billion people who have used Shazam worldwide, no other app has our scale when it comes to offering the opportunity to engage with the media that interests them the most, whether it’s music or television. And now, that experience is even better than before, enabling people in the US to engage with any show at any time,” said Andrew Fisher, Shazam CEO.

Starting today, when people in the US use the Shazam App while watching television, they have a fast and easy way to access:

• Featured music – Shazam has leveraged its rich music history and its 20+ million track database to identify the music featured in whatever people are watching
• Cast information – the app will list the cast featured in the programme, guest stars, as well as other shows they’ve been in
• Trivia – fans can learn more about their favourite programme and even read about the occasional goofs with the trivia feature in the app
• Celebrity buzz – gives fans all the latest gossip about the show and the stars in it
• Social sharing – live Twitter feeds as well as commenting in the app makes it fun to talk with your friends about what you’re watching
• More information – convenient links to show-related information at IMDB, Wikipedia, and the official site for the show.

Additionally, different types of programming will feature different results. For instance, sports events will include stats, scores and schedules instead of cast information.

“Over the last year, Shazam has been testing and learning what works by building dozens of custom interactive second-screen experiences for select television shows and events like the Olympics on NBC, American Idol, the GRAMMYs, and the Super Bowl, as well as other live and scripted programming across sports, reality, dramas, comedy and awards shows,” said Doug Garland, Chief Revenue Officer. “We’ve applied what we’ve learned to our newly expanded service, and will continue to work closely with our network partners and show producers to build special, unique second-screen experiences for their tent-pole television events and many of the most popular shows on TV.”

Currently, the Shazam for TV service is available in the UK and Western Europe providing second-screen interactivity for television advertising campaigns for global brands such as Renault, Toyota, Reebok, Schweppes, Unilever, Microsoft and Pepsi. In the coming months, the service will be expanded so that Shazam fans in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain will also be able to use the app to engage with the television programmes they love.

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