TDG: Social TV is altering the television experience
April 19, 2013
A TDG report on the evolving world of social TV provides new forecasts for social TV use between 2013 and 2020, as well as specific recommendations for TV industry stakeholders on how to incorporate social TV into television and online/OTT video offerings.
According to Joel Espelien, TDG Senior Analyst, former SVP of Strategy at PacketVideo, and author of the new report, “For many TV viewers, social TV is fundamentally altering the television experience, 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.” The growth in social TV over the past 18 months has put this topic on the strategic agenda of many in the TV industry.
“The use of social TV applications has tripled in a short period of time and now represents more than 10 million monthly active users. At the same time, the average social TV user has more than 500 followers on Twitter,” notes Espelien. “The combination of these factors gives social TV viewers 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.”
According to Espelien, the growing influence of social TV will create major new opportunities and challenges for content providers, TV networks, multichannel operators, and advertisers. “The entire value chain must adapt to a world in which the audience increasingly becomes part of the programme.”