Twitter boosts Social TV with Trendrr deal
August 29, 2013
By Colin Mann
Twitter has acquired Trendrr, a company that tracks and analyses conversation about TV shows on Twitter and other social media sites such as Facebook. The news was revealed in a blog post by Trendrr founder Mark Ghuneim, who suggested the move would give rise to bigger opportunities that drive better experiences for users, media and marketers – across Twitter and around the globe.
Twitter revealed mid-August that it was testing a new feature that sees links to popular TV shows appear as Twitter cards at the top of user’s Timelines, complete with related Tweet data and show information. It has also acquired companies such as analytics start-up Bluefin Labs, and in December 2012, struck a deal with Nielsen to deliver a syndicated-standard metric around the reach of the TV conversation on Twitter.
Ghuneim wrote: “Over the last five years we have led the way in working with real-time data and television, unlocking the power and value of engagement around TV and creating compelling media experiences around content.
That’s why we are excited to be joining Twitter’s world class team, enabling us to realise bigger opportunities that drive better experiences for users, media and marketers – across Twitter and around the globe.
Having sat at this intersection of TV and social media for years, we’ve analysed data from lots of platforms. What makes Twitter uniquely compelling among these platforms is its connection to the live moment — people sharing what’s happening, when it’s happening, to the world. We think we can help amplify even stronger the power of that connection to the moment inside of Twitter.
Curatorr, our Twitter certified product, will work with media companies, marketers, and display ecosystem partners to create compelling user experiences – continuing to pursue our initial charter of focusing on the real-time aspects of TV and media.
We intend to honour existing partner contracts for Trendrr.TV but we do not plan to establish new ones going forward.
Our success has been a tireless team effort involving innovative people and amazing clients pushing us to excellence. Respect to everyone who helped us navigate this journey and provided guidance and support – we could not have gotten here without you – and to our friends in the fourth estate not just in reporting on an important trend but being publishing partners around something important, something exciting, something transformative taking place for us all.”